A Peanuts Tale
by TheGreatestWriter
Summary: Friendship! Romance! Drama! Adventure! More Exclamations! The Peanuts Gang thought nothing much of the days ahead of them. Only wish washy Charlie Brown ever worried about things that were to come. Yet as time went on and the years rolled by, things changed. Tomorrow wasn't something they could ignore anymore. Are you ready for the journey of a lifetime? Charlie Brown isn't.
1. Chapter 1

A Peanuts Tale

 **Chapter 1: It's the Time of Our Lives, Charlie Brown!**

 **Featuring: Good ol' Charlie Brown & Linus**

Today was the last Saturday of summer break. The weather was like that of a nostalgic picture, a perfect capture of time in every way. Clear blue skies and mild temperatures were complemented with a nice summer breeze. For many kids and teens across the area, this was the moment for getting together and enjoying their youth. Yet for Charlie Brown, this was a most unhappy day.

"Oh boy, another great day to mock my misery."

The round headed boy was at the same concrete wall he had stood at in his childhood. Though in the past he could lean over the wall for support, now, in his teenage years, he could only sit on it. Charlie Brown had a look of resignation on his face, as if he was doomed and already knew it.

It just so happened that his best friend was walking down the street when he caught sight of Charlie Brown's dejected face. Compelled more so by conditioning than simply friendship at this time, Linus Van Pelt decided to do his best, once again, to try and help his best friend feel better.

"Why if it isn't Charlie Brown. How are you on this fine day if I may ask?"

"Oh, hey Linus." Linus detected a sigh escaping from the mouth of his friend before he talked back. "I actually haven't been very fine myself."

" _Great, another one of these moments,_ " Linus complained in his head.

Charlie Brown nor Linus had changed much since their childhood. Linus' hair was as scraggly as ever and the few hairs Charlie had tried to grow didn't make him look any less bald. The black zigzag design was still ever present on Charlie Brown etched on a yellow button up shirt and dark brown shorts were worn reaching just at his knees. Linus was sporting a red hoodie these days and khaki pants. Both friends had grown in height and weight, Linus being lanky and Charlie Brown average if now a slightly pudgy. Despite these bodily changes the two teens were still the same good kids at heart. Linus even kept the old blue blanket he had a child, only now leaving it in a backpack for safekeeping.

Linus sat down next Charlie Brown on the wall, taking his back off his shoulders and dropping it between his legs. He thought for a moment over what to say to his best friend. It was often that Linus came in at these kinds of times of worry in Charlie Brown's life and had to assist him in finding the positive side of things. Occasionally however, Linus was prone to becoming upset himself at having to constantly deal with his friend's troubles and today just so happened to be one of those days.

"Well lay it on me. Why not?" Linus suddenly asked.

"Huh?"

"Why haven't you been fine? I mean, today's wonderful! If I were ever to witness a more pristine day with such miraculous weather to end summer on why, I must be a blessed man."

" _Leave it to Linus to always find a spiritual side to things,_ " Charlie Brown thought.

"Blessed? Well I don't feel very blessed right now."

"How can't you? A day like this at summer's end-"

"That's the thing Linus! Summer is ending!" Charlie Brown began standing while shouting his problems.

"After today there will be only one more day before we have to go back to school again. That makes another ten months before I get to enjoy summer again."

Linus' brows furrowed at his friend's statements before he responded. "So shouldn't you enjoy the good day you've been given now? Come on Charlie Brown, you've been like this every summer since first grade! You always miss out on some of the best experiences in life because you worry too much about the possibility of having bad experiences."

"You don't get it Linus! Last year was the start of my high school life. I had promised myself I was going to leave a good impression on the teachers, make plenty of new friends, join an extracurricular club, make it onto a sports team, and finally, finally get a girlfriend."

"You did set the bar pretty high," Linus commented.

"Maybe. But not even one, one of those promises happen! I nearly failed all of my classes and I met plenty of bullies who just love picking on me now. I couldn't find a single club that interested me, much less one where the members actually wanted me. Every tryout I went to ended up with the players and coaches laughing at me. To top it all off, there's not a single girl in the school willing to go near me unless they're playing a prank or are forced to be my partner in class. Face it Linus, I'm a washout: a wish washy loser."

Charlie Brown lowered his head down in shame. He had resigned himself to be the laughing stock of the school. In his mind, there wasn't one silver lining for him to take advantage of in his string of failures. In fact, he may as well have made his own web of doubts that he was now stuck in.

Linus observed Charlie Brown and contemplated his troubles. They had known each other for a long time, long enough for Linus to come to terms with the clouds of unhappiness that were cast over his friend's head every now and then. He knew of course that deep down Charlie Brown was actually one of the strongest people he'd ever known for he always kept trying even in the face of failure. Of course that didn't stop him from being a worrywart either although this was in part caused by the constant chastisement he received from his peers. Yet part of that worrying, the most dangerous part, came from the self-doubt in Charlie Brown's own heart. The constant anxiety that he had could prove to be self-destructive if left untreated and Linus knew that the only way for Charlie Brown to get over it was for his spirits to get a swift kick from a friend.

" _Here we go again_ "

Knowing what he must do, Linus let out a small breath before he began to speak.

"Now listen to me, Charlie Brown! You indeed did have a rocky start in high school! It was't anywhere close to the best freshman years a student could have. In fact, out of all the freshman stories I've ever heard of, yours is in fact at the bottom of the barrel."

"Well geez Linus, thanks for the supp-"

"I wasn't done yet. Yes you were at the bottom of the barrel, but that just means you can only go up. Look Charlie Brown, life isn't some easy road to walk on. It's a cross country course through hills and valleys, forests and fields. Sometimes we run into a rough patch where it looks like the difficult times will never end. We get tired and feel downtrodden but we can't just stop. If we do we'll just end up alone and unchanging while everyone runs right by us. No, we have to keep going. No matter how disillusioned we get, we know that after every hard climb uphill there is an easy and relaxing run downhill. After every trek through dense woods there is always a clearing ahead. Enjoy the clearing that's been given to you know Charlie Brown and be thankful for it! After it's gone it's back into the rough patches we go. However, if you decide to pace yourself and keep moving rather than slow down to a halt you might yourself having a much more comfortable race."

It was only after finishing that speech that Linus realized he had been standing on top of the wall to speak in the heat of the moment. An air of silence settled around the boys before it was broken by the round headed teen.

"Wow Linus...that was...moving." Charlie Brown stood in awe at Linus' words.

"Yeah, well, I've only tried so many times-"

"No really, Linus! Your words, they really mean something, and I don't just mean like a dictionary definition. I never thought about my life that way, like a race. I always imagined it more like a baseball game, where you show up at home plate and show the world what you got. You hit it and you see where the ball goes. You strike out and it's all over. But it being a race changes everything. Sure there might be a first place but there aren't any real losers in a run. In a marathon I wouldn't be running to win, I'd be running for myself to show that I can do the things I put real work into. I can't just expect things to happen on the fly. I have to be proactive! I must take initiative!"

"Absolutely, Charlie Brown. Although I do emphasize the importance of setting your own pace-"

"I can't just expect walk out onto the football or baseball field and get onto the team. I have to practice and practice until I can't practice any more! I can't just make friends if I haven't gotten closer to the ones I already have so I'll have to work at deepening our friendships. I need to start studying extra hard too. Forget about weeknight fun and weekend relaxation, I've got to hit the books while I have the time. Huh, now that I think about it, if I study that much I'll leave out no time for my friends. Yet if I save some time for them there will be no time to practice sports! And if I do that-"

"That's enough!" Linus yelled in frustration at a distressed Charlie Brown.

"Calm down and PACE yourself. You don't have to do everything at the same time. The school is just about to start so don't worry about studying too much now until the material starts to add up. Tryouts are coming up soon but the days are still long so you have plenty of time to practice. If you want to focus on something now you can focus on your friends and helping me get ice cream before the day ends. I'm a little short on cash at the moment to be frank.'

A small smile grew on Charlie Brown's face. He was more than happy to know that still had someone behind his back ready to help him. Linus would always be a good man in Charlie Brown's eyes.

"Sure thing Linus. For all you've done buddy, free ice cream is the least I can do. Thanks for everything."

Linus gave a grin back. "No problem, man."

Linus picked up his bag while Charlie Brown collected himself. Before his friend could look at him, Linus unzipped his backpack and stuck his hand inside. He felt around for a bit before finding his old blanket. Softly, he grabbed it. A small wave of relaxation moved across the whole of Linus' body. As much as he pained to admit, Charlie Brown's own anxiety could get to him from time to time. Nevertheless, so long as he had his security blanket, Linus always had a way of finding his own sense of peace. Quickly, he zipped up the bag as his yellow clad friend turned to him. Feeling good he asked his friend, "So where shall we head off too for our desserts, Charlie Brown?"

The good ol' pal gladly answered back. "Wherever the course takes us, Linus."


	2. Chapter 2

A Peanuts Tale

 **Chapter 2: There's No Prison Like Home**

 **Featuring: Sally Brown and Lucy**

"Is there no justice in the world for a girl like me?!"

On a couch in a small house lied a girl bored out of her mind. It was just her luck that the other day she was grounded for having sneaked out at night to go to a birthday party. So what if it was late at night then? It's not like anything happened at the party. No, it was just a couple of girls gossiping about the guys around town and watching a few cheesy romantic comedies.

"If only my life were as simple and dreamy as those movies." A pink blouse and red knee length skirt were being worn by the girl. It seemed counterproductive to be so dressed up in one's home environment. After all, it wasn't as if she was going anywhere for the day. Still the girl had standards for herself. She wouldn't let a single person catch her looking like a slob, especially her weird older brother.

"Hmph. Out of all girls in the world who had to be grounded, why did it have to be a sweetheart like me?!"

The girl known as Sally Brown of course knew that she was screaming to no one in particular. Her parents were out of the house for today and her brother, she figured, was busy acting mopey somewhere outside.

Unbeknownst to her however a pair of floppy ears had heard the girl's complaints. A black and white beagle stealthily moved across the carpet floors before slowly maneuvering himself behind the couch. In a flash it delivered a quick kiss to girl's forehead.

"What the- oh it's just you Snoopy. Well thanks for the affection, boy. It's not like anyone else in this house gives me any. Especially in my time of need!"

Snoopy didn't budge from his spot but instead offered a large grin to the girl below. Sally however, was in no mood for Snoopy's presence any longer.

"Go away you stupid dog! You're not going to get any treats just for one sloppy kiss. Do you see me kissing my parents and getting money for it? No! I get paid set times of every month through an allowance just like you get fed set times every day. If I started giving you treats every time you showed love the whole system would break down! Love doesn't reward!"

The beagle's smile turned into a frown as he turned to walk back out of the room, his ears now drooping beside his lowered head.

"Hmph. Like I'd be easily manipulated. Out of all the lousy-"

Riiiinnnng!

Sally's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of the house phone. Knowing her parent's would be upset if they happened to miss any important calls, Sally picked up the phone expecting to have to deliver a message. It became a surprise to her however when she heard a familiar voice on the other end.

"Hello. This is Ms. Van Pelt speaking."

"Lucy? What are you calling here for and why do you sound so professional?"

"The tone in the caller's voice completely changed at Sally's response.

"Well if it isn't Sally Brown. I'd ask how you're doing but the tone you're speaking in tells me all I need to know. Having fun trapped in your own house?"

The sarcasm coming from Lucy couldn't be more blatant. The girl always had a knack for trying to get underneath people's skins. For someone like Sally Brown's brother. this made spineless people her easiest victims. Yet, for someone like Sally who was more than willing to defend herself, this just happened to be normal conversation talk for Lucy.

"Oh I'm doing just fine. Thanks for asking. I mean how could I not love the stale air of my own home and all the artificial lighting for my skin?"

"Awww, does the baby need some sunlight for little skin? Keep getting grounded and you'll never leave your house. Imagine all the baby fat you could have lost if you just followed the rules like a good little girl?"

"Excuse me?" Sally roared. "Who was the "good little girl" that invited me in the first place and insisted that sneaking out at 1 a.m. was a good idea? Oh that's right, it was little miss psychiatrist here!"

A muffled giggle could be heard on the other end of the line. Sally was deadpan for only a second before bursting out into laughter herself. The heated banter between the two was only a funny reminder of the endurance of their friendship. It seemed impossible years ago that the personalities of both would do anything but clash. Yet the bond between the two has only grown perhaps from how no one else knew how to deal with such attitudes then themselves.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Lucy finally replied. "So I'm not all sunshine and rainbows myself. Let me at least ask you then, as you're-"

"Partner in crime?"

"More like, business associate- are you ready for tonight's party?"

Sally, in shock at the statement, jumped up from the couch. She quickly looked around the house, out of habit from her parents occasionally eavesdropping on her calls.

"There's another party? Tonight?! Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Well, I did try calling your cellphone earlier," Lucy stated, "but my texts weren't received."

"Did it occur to to you my parents might have taken away said phone as another part of my punishment?"

"Well it did a few minutes ago! That's why I called your house and spoke in a much more, mature manner."

"As if you could ever be mature." Sally mocked.

"Why I ought to.."

"Forget that. So this party: who, what where when? I need allllll the details I can get."

"Well if you must know our mutual friend Frieda is hosting an end of summer shindig at her house tonight. There have been mass text invites going out since yesterday. Everyone and anyone is going to be there. Sally, Violet, and I are meeting up at that ice cream place a couple blocks away from the school. We have a lot to talk about before the night begins. So are you in?"

A pause took over the conversation. Sally though silent on the outside was internally debating with herself over the matter.

"On one hand she was absolutely dying to get out and be with partying. School was about to start! There's no way she would be able to go to another party in the foreseeable future so long as she her parents made her focus on her classes. On the other hand, getting caught tonight would be the ultimate death sentence for her. Her parents would put other on permanent lockdown for the whole year. It would just be school and home with absolutely no social life in between. Yet who's to say she would even have an active social life if she didn't go to this party and hang out with everybody? It would make more sense-"

"Sally?"

"What?"

"You've been quiet for 30 seconds. You realize I'm wasting precious minutes on my phone here. Time is money and it's not like I'm a bottomless bank here."

"Um...I'm not sure I'll be able to get ice cream..."

"Okay Sally, I get it if you're too worried over-"

"W-wait. I wasn't done. I was saying won't be able to get ice cream but that doesn't mean I won't see you later tonight. My parents are coming back in a few hours and I have to come up with a way to trick them or at least keep them from knowing where I am. I'm not out yet!"

"Oho, seems like we've got a fighter here. Very well, then I presume you shall be at the party by 10:30? Otherwise, I'll just have to assume you were to chicken to go through with your promise."

"Don't you know who I am? I'm Sally Brown, soon to be famous and popular all across town! You can bet your ass that I'll be there!"

"I'm not a betting person, Sally. Like you said, I'm professional."

Lucy ended the call and Sally exhaled a sigh of relief. As much as it pained herself to admit, it took a lot of willpower to tackle Lucy head on when it came to a challenge. Lucy was a surprisingly effective manipulator with words when she wanted to be. Years of running that booth must have helped, ironically.

Sally herself however, wasn't the best at constructing arguments or even thoughts very well. She still had that childish nature to herself where things that made sense to her had to make sense for others even when she couldn't say it. So while Lucy could use words to construct a detailed illustration for her ideas, Sally struggled with getting people to see her own picture of thoughts.

" _Ugh, forget about Lucy for now Sally. Focus on what you need now, a plan to outwit mom and dad."_

Sally stood up and began to pace. It was nearly impossible for her to stay still and concentrate at the same time. Movement helped her think.

"I could…no. Although maybe- nah, it's too risky…then again…ARGH!" The blonde picked up a pillow from the couch and flung it across the house, hitting a window in the kitchen in the process. The thud was loud enough to disturb a lazy Snoopy outside and he came rushing into the house.

Finding not a single idea worth pursuing, Sally fell back into the old armchair of the living room. Rubbing her temples, she tried to ease the stress in her mind to no avail.

"Face it, Sally, you just can't win this one."

Snoopy happened to catch on to Sally's frustration. Though not a dog of many if any spoken words, even he could read the mood of an extremely emotional teenage girl.

"Perhaps, this was all pre-destined to happen. Maybe I was never meant to be popular in the first place. I mean look at my family. There's not a single famous individual that I can think of from our house. Heck, my brother has to be the inverse of popularity. I might as well resign myself to my family legacy. Live out the rest of my days in squalor as just another pretty face in school: no clique to be in and no friends to rely on. Ha, it's funny. All my life I thought I could escape from the dull and boring realities of the world. Yet it happens that I can't even escape from my own house. Could I live a more sad life? Am I destined to be another Charlie Brown?"

Once again, nothing responded to Sally's pleas. If anything the room seemed quieter now after her outward monologue. Though Sally tended to dramatize her problems to the extreme, she still felt strongly about her failures. It was a reminder of a time where she continually failed again and again at something she was dying to win at. No matter how much of her heart she poured into achieving success, she always came back home empty handed.

" _No."_ she thought to herself. " _That's the last thing I need on my mind now._ " Sally curled her legs up on the chair cushion and laid her forehead onto her knees. " _I am NOT about to cry now of all times."_ She breathed in and out through her mouth in sharp bursts. " _All I have to do is calm down_. _Breathe in…and out…IN….and ou-"_

In that second, Sally felt a slight tug on her shirt's right shoulder. Looking down she saw Snoopy gazing up at her. Snoopy climbed up on the arm rest of the chair and began slowly rubbing Sally's head. Bewilderment took over Sally's being for a moment before a warmth began growing in her heart. Suddenly she began giggling at the scenario she was in.

"What the heck…a beagle patting the head of a human. Just what makes you so special?"

Snoopy continued rubbing Sally's head, ignoring her comments and focusing on lifting the girl's spirits. If he owed his owner anything, it was to keep his family happy.

"Jeez, just what am I going to do with you, huh Snoopy? Of all the lousy…WAIT A MINUTE!"

A lightbulb came to life in Sally's Brain. It was in that time that a plan, more like a gamble, materialized in her thoughts. She finally knew how she could get to that party and keep her parents from knowing."

A devious little grin took form over Sally's face as she stared at Snoopy who was now apprehensively looking back.

"Hey Snoopy, have I got a treat for you…"


	3. Chapter 3

A Peanuts Tale

 **Chapter 3: Happy Hour, Sad Days**

 **Featuring: Charlie Brown, Linus, Violet Gray, and Patty**

It was 5 o'clock when Charlie Brown and Linus made it a mile from the ice cream parlor. Charlie Brown's mood had considerably improved since Linus had talked to him. He was finally beginning to see things in a new light.

" _All this time, I thought I was stuck in a never-ending rut. I never even considered how much of a roller-coaster life is. It may get a little bumpy for a while but who's to say I won't smoothly coasting soon?_

"It seems you are in better spirits now, Charlie Brown," Linus observantly noticed. "Are you starting to take things in stride now?"

"More than that, Linus!" Charlie Brown exclaimed. "It's like my eyes are open to a whole new world of possibilities! Just when I was starting to think it was all over for me, you showed me how much potential much life still holds! I can't just let my past failures hold on to me forever. I've got to seize the day and look forward to tomorrow."

"Well I'm glad you're still not down in the dumps. I'm not sure you know, but I've received word of a party being held later this evening. If you were to attend it could bolster not only your happiness but also your social status. With the way your attitude now, you're a shoo-in for success! To be completely honest, you're much better company to have around when you aren't upset, no offense."

"None taken," Charlie Brown coolly responded. "You don't have to worry about me. What could possibly bring my mood down on a day like this?"

On a little wooden bench near a quaint little ice cream parlor sat two girls, one content and one grumpy. The happy one was dressed in a sleeveless, checkered lime skater dress with spotless white sneakers to balance. Her hairy, a dirty blonde, was cut short to her chin and complimented with a light green bow. She happily enjoyed eating a cookie dough waffle cone in her hand, biting the treat with a smirk on her face. Her companion however, was much less enthused. She happened to be wearing a dark purple and short-sleeved summer dress. Rich, raven hair was tied into a short ponytail on top of her head and her feet were adorned by black flats. Though her appearance was affluent and composed, her mood was but impatient and poor. A frown was stuck on the girl's face no matter how many scoops of her sundae she seemed to devour. Truly, the air of the two could not be more contrasted. Yet despite this juxtaposition, the two sat side by side, ignorant of their differences and satisfied with the other's company.

"Mm, I haven't had something this sweet in a long time!" The girl in the green dress squealed in delight. "The sugary taste just melts in my mouth! Come on, Violet, you just have to try it!"

"Where the heck is she, Patty? We've been waiting for 15 minutes and there's still no sign of her! Of all the people of the world, she's the one to walk over us, and after the great lengths we've gone to help her too! I mean, it's not like we're getting any younger here."

Patty let out an exasperated breath. "Chill, Violet. You're the last person here that needs to be worrying about age. Besides, things aren't even bad now, are they? Right now we've got our hands on some of the most delicious desserts in town. By the time we finish them, Lucy will have arrived and we'll hear out whatever little plan she has for tonight's party." Patty nonchalantly spoke as she licked the cookie dough scoop in her cone. "We just have to wait is all."

"Wait? You're telling us to wait? Come on Patty! Don't tell me there isn't a single bone in your body that isn't itching to get out of this place."

In the blink of an eye, Patty's chipper expression suddenly morphed into a fearsome scowl.

"Of course I want to get out of here! I mean I haven't even picked out the right outfit much less what makeup I'm using."

"Makeup? Don't get me started on that! I've barely figured out how I'm going to style my hair!"

"The stress!"

"The pain!"

"The torture of it all!"

"Aaargh!" both exclaimed in unison.

The two slumped down in their seats, faces staring at the tabletops below them.

"All of this because we listen to Lucy Van Pelt."

Patty sighed and took another bite from her cone. "Not even the ice cream can cheer me up now."

"Gee, I would kill to have a punching bag right now. I could unload all of my frustrations with a solid 1, 2, combo!"

"You haven't gotten into a fist fight in years and you still think you're some sort of boxing pro."

"I took lessons! My dad paid for 3 weeks and I learned from the very best. You don't lose you're fighting skill Patty, you just get a little rusty."

"Yeah well, I don't think a couple of punches are going to help vent out my anger."

"You're right…" started Violet before an unsuspecting pair was caught in the corner of her eye.

A sinister grin came upon Violet's face. "That's why we just need to find another punching bag that can handle whatever we throw at him."

* * *

All it took was 5 seconds for Charlie Brown's brain to register what he was seeing. In front of him, no more than twenty feet away sat two of his least favorite people in the world. If ever there was a brick wall that appeared out of nowhere, Charlie Brown had just crashed straight into it. All the energy he had built up on his and Linus' short walk dropped to near empty levels. He knew what was in store for him if he was confronted by the two.

"You know I did have a taste for ice cream earlier but on second thought I wouldn't mind a nice ice cold coffee instead, Linus. I suppose we should just turn back and head on our merry way."

Linus, of course, was no idiot. He knew of the looming threat in front of his friend. Violet Gray and Patty were known throughout their lives to be a pair of intimidating and sadistic bullies. Honestly, Linus wondered how this town bred so many antagonizing women yet he supposed it was nature's way of toughening up every guy in town. Unfortunately for poor Charlie Brown, he had the tendency to let folks walk all over him. If Charlie Brown was in deed determined to move forward with his life, he couldn't just let his childhood tormentors rag on him forever.

"Now, now, Charlie Brown, let's not get ahead of ourselves here. The nearest cafe is 5 miles from here. You certainly don't seem to be suffering caffeine withdrawal as well. This place serves coffee ice cream which should hold you over for the day. All you got to do is go to the counter and place your order."

"But Linus-"

"No buts here, Charlie Brown. Look, I know why you're fretting over this now. Believe me, there's never an enjoyable minute spent dealing with Patty and Violet. Yet if you're looking to advance in life, you can't just stop and turn tail whenever a mean person steps out in front of you. You have to confront the problem head on."

"…Alright."

"Alright?"

"Okay, Linus. I trust you." Charlie Brown reflexively gulped from nervousness. "I can do this."

As one duo gradually ambled to the open window at the parlor the other began to rise from their seats. Both of now standing girls had an evil grin on their appearances as if the devil was silently whispering wicked words in their ears. Charlie Brown did his best to keep his gaze averted from them but he could do nothing to hide the accumulating sweat on his skin. For a while he shut his eyes just to block out the outside world.

" _I'm okay. I'm okay. They can't get you here. I have to prove Linus right and them wrong!"_

"Hello, sir."

The distraught boy in the zigzag sweater slowly opened one eye. To his astonishment, he made it to the parlor window without any incident.

" _I did it! I actually did it!"_

"Excuse me sir, but how may I help you today?"

" _Oh boy. I make it all the way here only to find my mind going completely blank! What did I want to order? Say something, Charlie Brown._ "

"Um…well…you see..." Charlie Brown fumblingly uttered those few words all while trying to compose himself. Yet no matter how hard he tried, he simply could not remember what flavor Linus he had in mind to order.

To the horror of Charlie Brown however, his original problem had not been fully avoided after all. In the corner of his eye he could see Patty and Violet waltzing up to him. " _Why here of all place_ s?" he thought yet his answer soon came to him. The only trash can in the area was situated right next to the counter he was ordering from and the pair of girls just so happened to be finished eating and on their way to throw away their garbage.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't ole' Charlie Brown." Violet haughtily broadcast to the world. "What a coincidence for us to be cleaning up our trash just as you walk up right next to the can."

Charlie Brown was sweating bullets while Patty and Violet snickered. "Could this be fate for us to meet, now of all times..." Violet walked closer to her prey. "..., especially when we're this annoyed?"

"It could as well be. Then again, I've always thought some sick author just enjoyed writing me into these types of situations just to get a good laugh out of it." The bald headed juvenile begrudgingly conversed with the two girls.

"Oh come on, Charlie Brown, it can't be all that bad. After all, you're in the presence with two gorgeous beauties such as ourselves-"

"Which in itself is an oxymoron-" Linus interrupted.

"-who are willing to talk to ONE of you." Patty gave an intense glare towards Linus before returning her attention back to her original target.

The tension hanging in the air was becoming unbearable for Charlie Brown. He didn't know what to say to Patty and Violet. He never knew what to say to them. If he spoke his mind freely he was likely to be insulted back or even pushed around by them. Years ago he could just explode in anger and they would be too stunned to say anything badly to him. Now however, his emotions were way too complex and he just didn't have it in him to let loose.

"Listen, you guys. I'm just trying to order ice cream right now. It would be nice of you to give me some space and-"

"Don't lie to us. We saw you mumbling over here trying to order." Violet giddily proclaimed. "That's Charlie Brown. Can't even make a decision as simple as what flavor of ice cream he wants."

"Well I was-"

Violet stepped in front of Charlie Brown at the line. "Excuse me, ma'am?"

"Yes?" The cashier turned her attention towards the girl "How may I help-"

"My friend over here, Charlie Brown, bless his soul, happens to be really uncomfortable around people, especially women." Violet emphasized the last phrase. "He didn't quite know how to put what he wanted to order in words for you. I however, one of his friends, have taken it upon myself to satisfy his request. He would like a praline and bubble gum triple scoop cone with extra sprinkles on the top."

"Um, of course miss. That will be $4.23."

"You have change for a twenty, right?"

"Ah, yes."

The cashier reluctantly took hold of the $20 bill. She left the window to get the change from the register.

Charlie Brown's mouth was agape. He couldn't believe it! Right when he was about to have a small little victory for the day Violet pushed him into the jaws of defeat. He had been completely humiliated in front of a total stranger. How exactly was he supposed to recover from that?

Linus on the other hand, was more fired up than ever. He hated to see his best friend so easily beaten down by the girls. " _Couldn't anyone else see what Charlie Brown has to go through?_ "

"What's your problem!?" Linus yelled. "I'll have you know that Charlie Brown has been having a rough day as of late. He might not be very composed right now but just you wait for tonight."

"Linus!" Charlie Brown frantically tried to stop this conversation.

"Tonight? Are you talking about Frieda's party?" Patty dubiously asked.

"Great Linus, you just had to mention that…"

"Ha, you two are going there? Come on, we all know that out of everyone in the school, the last person to willingly want to show up to a social event is Charlie Brown."

"Hold the phone! This is not the same Charlie Brown we're talking about. That old guy is a relic of the past, long forgotten to times lost. The man you see before you is the new and improved Charlie Brown. He's got a whole new philosophy to live by and he's not about to let you two drag him back down!"

"Is that so?" a new voice inquired.

All of what little hair Charlie Brown had on his neck stood up at sound of the voice. The anxiety he was feeling before was nothing compared to the overwhelming sea of uneasiness he was feeling now.

A new figure walked behind the two girls and parted its way between them. While one would be initially shocked at anyone daring to get in the way of Violet Gray and Patty that astonishment would instantly disappear the second they took notice of this figure's face. It was known all too well by the boys and girls in this town for being the face of snappiness in a city of moody people. All Charlie Brown could think of at that moment was what godforsaken action he did to get himself into this situation.

"From my perspective, all I see is the same gutless blockhead I've always known."

Standing right in front of Charlie Brown was none other than Lucy Van Pelt herself.


	4. Chapter 4

A Peanuts Tale

 **Chapter 4: Stuck Between a Rock and a Lucy**

 **Featuring: Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Violet Gray, and Patty**

People knew of Lucy Van Pelt. If they hadn't heard her, which wasn't likely given the volume of her voice, they had heard of her. She somehow lived in both fame and infamy at the same time, an impressive feat given its normal impossibility. To say she was domineering would be an understatement for nearly every action done by her clique was run through her. She had the knowhow to tell people what they needed to hear yet not the compassion to tell them what they wanted to hear. She was the most pigheaded person in town, never letting anyone have the audacity to think that they're better than her.

It took no genius to figure out that when facing Lucy in any confrontation, you were most likely doomed.

"So Mr. Yellow Belly has decided to grow a spine after all these years, huh? Who would've thought that you, the most socially inept person I've ever met would have the nerve to come to our party tonight?"

Poor Charlie Brown was caught completely off-guard by Lucy's appearance. However, he had played this same type of torture game with her hundreds of times before. Staying silent in a conversation with her was not a smart move. Nervously he replied. "Listen Lucy, I'm not trying to upset you or anything. Linus just thought that a good idea to help me was to-"

"Help you? Stop right there. Which one of us siblings have been the one giving you professional psychiatric advice since you were a child? Now think about that and ask yourself which one of us is also then one still carrying around an old piece of cloth for security."

Linus instinctively reached behind his back and slung his bag to his front. He felt for the blanket inside his backpack and grasped it tightly. As Charlie Brown had been a victim of Lucy's taunts and insults Linus had the unfortunate circumstance of be a sibling with her in the same house. Time had only made her abuses worse as they developed through puberty physically and emotionally.

"Please Lucy, don't drag Linus into this. If it's about tonight-"

"Hold up, Lucy." Violet interjected Lucy's tirade. "We never even said we would invite the-"

"Excuse me, but I was talking with Charlie Brown here. Unless of course, I mistook one blockhead with another here which I'm sure I didn't."

Violet muted herself faster than the others had time to gauge her reaction. That was exactly what Lucy wanted. She didn't demand things. She expected them to happen.

"Now then, Charlie Brown I'm sure you're quite well aware but this is an "end of summer" event. It's celebrating the last hours of freedom we have until we're expected to sit down and shut up in school for the rest of the year. I don't have very strong opinions for or against school, mind you. If anything I think it's an effective way to sort out the ones who will make it in the world vs. the ones that won't. I do however, take great pain in knowing my days of lounging all day in my house are numbered. If there's one thing I hate more than dealing with people like you it's missing out on my "me time". So listen up, Charlie Brown, and listen well. I am going to enjoy this last party in summer without any worries. I am not going to have a single exasperating or infuriating experience tonight."

"Well good, isn't that great for you. Unfortunately, I'm not like you Lucy. I worry all the time! While you guys act without a care in the world I end up fretting over every little thing. So have a good time, Lucy. Cause, I sure won't if I go."

"Awww, it must be so hard feeling bad yourself all the time. Listen Charlie Brown, I didn't drop by to wallow in your self-pity. Still, you being here makes it hard to overlook the sudden cloud of depression. Heck, just knowing you're alive painting yourself in the blues makes me vomit. As a human being and mental doctor to you I can no longer ignore this."

Lucy's lips curled upwards before delivering an unexpected statement.

"You however, will be attending this party. You will be there, Charlie Brown, as my very own guest of honor. I expect you to get there promptly and with a happy look on your face. I want you to be having the time of your life Charlie Brown because simply knowing I live in the same world as a sad person like you dampens my mood."

Suddenly, Lucy's smile turns offensive.

"That being said, I' m a very moody person. The slightest little complaint can set me off and make me rage. I don't want to have to get mad tonight, Charlie Brown. So if I have to deal with one, troublesome problem from you…"

The mouth of the Van Pelt daughter hovered just inches away from Charlie Brown's ear.

"I will make your entire high school life miserable."

An outbreak of goosebumps abruptly developed of Charlie Brown's skin. For the first time all day he was at peace. He was at peace knowing that his entire life was to be doomed from the start. There was no way he could win this kind of bet. It was a losing game from the start much like all of the baseball games Charlie Brown had captained in the past.

Yet deep down somewhere inside of him, a piece of fighting spirit held strong. For no matter how hard things got for Charlie Brown, he would never fully accept defeat as long as he could keep trying. Yes, despite how browbeaten Charlie Brown could be, even he got tired of letting Lucy be the smug winner.

"You know what, Lucy? You're on. I might not be the most self-assured guy around. I don't ooze confidence like some people do but I'm not about to let that be the ruin of me!"

"So I will go to that party like you want! Even more, I'll be the happiest, most fun loving guy there! After that you'll see Lucy, you'll finally see that your patient has shown improvement."

Lucy was stupefied. She was expecting him to break down, fall to his knees, and beg for a way out. She quickly realized she should've known better. This was Charlie Brown she was thinking of. He was already at rock bottom in life. The blockhead always had a way of never admitting it though, never quitting once and for all in his life. He always had to take another crack at whatever idiotic thing he was concerned with doing. Frankly, that was one quality Lucy actually admired of Charlie Brown's, a secret she would never admit.

"Hmph, Is that so? Well I guess we'll just see about that, won't we? Come on, girls, we've got a party to prepare for," Lucy superciliously announced, "and apparently so do they."

Lucy turned herself around and walked back from where she came. Patty and Violet finally jolted from their silent positions and hurriedly moved to keep in pace with Lucy.

Linus stared at Charlie Brown before him. Letting go of the blanket, his hand came out of the backpack and hung down from his side. He was unsure of what to make of the outcome of this situation. " _Where did Charlie Brown work up that nerve from?_ "

"Charlie Brown? Are you, uh, okay?"

"Okay? Okay, Linus? I've never felt better in all my life!"

"Really? Well I'm surprised considering-"

"Do you know what I just did, Linus? I told off Lucy! You're older sister! It's been years since I had the gut to do something like that! Normally I'd bend over and let her get her way but not this time! Today, I decided to stick it to her!"

"That phrase can be construed in an entirely different direction…"

"Who cares, Linus? I, good for nothing Charlie Brown, actually did something brave for once! I took on a challenge from Lucy!"

Slowly, the gravity of his actions finally weighed on Charlie Brown's mind.

"I took on a challenge from Lucy…"

"Now, now it's not all bad, my friend. Why, you've still got your ice cream!"

Reactively, Charlie Brown looked down at his hand. Violet's specially ordered dessert just for Charlie Brown had melted in the heat of his conversation with Lucy. A goopy soup of praline and bubble gum flavor leaked from the top of his now soggy cone, sprinkles sticking to the back of his hand.

Linus cleared his throat. "Huh, well that's unfortunate."

Charlie Brown lifted his head and shouted to the world.

"Aagh!"

* * *

Lucy strolled off from the ice cream parlor and made her way to a nearby park. She sat herself down at a nearby wooden table and closed her eyes. Patty and Violet, never certain when it came to dealing with Lucy, cautious sat down at two other sides of the table. They nervously shifted their eyes from one to another, egging each other on to say something. It felt like an eternity passed before Patty was bold enough to finally speak.

"So Lucy, you wanted to go over some stuff before tonight?"

"Not now, Patty."

Hush once again found its place into the space. The older girls were on edge as always around Lucy. Always it seemed like walking on pins and needles when dealing with her. Only this time, Violet was beginning to get seriously annoyed dealing with Lucy.

"This is a very special time for us, Lucy. I'm sure you're aware, but this party is our way of firmly establishing who will rule the school. I'm talking freshmen slaves, social connections, dibs on guys…"

Lucy began massaging her temples with her eyes still kept shut.

"This year is not going to be the same as the last. I mean, aside from us no longer being freshman, we now have a whole younger class to shape for our own use. Not to mention that if we really show up to this party and make it successful we'll forever seen as the hottest girls in town."

"…sophomore year. That's what this is. Our second year in high school."

Violet was perplexed at the unrelated comment from Lucy but Patty quickly took back rein of the conversation.

"Yes, sophomore year! How often do others waste this year on dumb classes when they could instead be focused on making a name for themselves? We could be at the top of our school without even being seniors yet. Just imagine the power we'll have!"

"Do you know what a sophomore year means?"

It was easy to see that Lucy's tangent was not going to be interrupted this time. Patty and Violet decided to remain quiet as to let her continue on.

"It means it's time to face the facts. The facts of life. We have three school years left before we graduate. That's less than five years of time where we can get around solely by our popularity. After that I'll be headed to college. I don't know where, but I guess it'll be somewhere with an established Greek sorority around. I'll most likely rush to get in. Predictably, I'll get in. Of course then, I'll have to start all over working my way up to be at the top of the house. By then though, it'll be time to graduate all over again."

A short pause occurred before Lucy's continued her dialog.

"I have a headache. I'm sick of all the climbing and fighting it takes to reach the top. We're undoubtedly at the peak of our class in terms of status so why bother any further? I say let's just put our feet up and enjoy our glory days now."

Lucy was known for sharing her mind over matters. She always found a way to put her opinion into a topic of discussion. Rarely di she let people see past her proud exterior. For Violet and Patty, they had grown up together with Lucy and knew of the more wistful person behind the skin. Still, that part of her did not often appear. For Patty, this sparked up a bit of concern for Lucy's well-being. For Violet however, this only served to further her irritation.

"What in the world are you talking about? 'Glory days?' Get real, Lucy! We're aren't some fifty-year-old housewives living off past memories. This is our time. We've got to be here to plan for tonight otherwise we'll be letting dozens of other replacements line up to take our place. Don't let some delusional fantasies take you out of what's important now."

"Delusional-"

"What Violet is trying to say, Lucy, is that this isn't exactly a good moment to be concerned with the problems of the future." A stern look was given from Patty to Violet before the arbitrating young woman continued on.

"From what Violet and I have heard, Frieda has been planning on making a move on your spot in the school. Her hosting this party has already gives her an advantage but I'm betting on her doing something huge to solidly define herself apart from us. We need to figure out a way of keeping her from making that move. If we don't well…"

Violet jumped into the talk "Your so called 'glory days' are going to end soon. It's one or the other."

Lucy didn't open her lips. Patty pleadingly looked at her for an answer but Violet had enough began rising from the table.

"You better have you're answer by tonight, Lucy. No matter how close we are in this "friendship", I won't be sinking with you." Violet turned around and left the girls behind.

Patty and Lucy remained seated, neither moving in their place or saying a word. The fair haired girl's gaze was focused on Lucy who herself was looking out into space. Finally, Patty let out a long sigh and began getting up.

"I would be lying if I said either of you two are easy to deal with. I'm not exactly too keen on sabotaging our last summer party but we have to see the full the picture here. Lucy, just try and be there for us tonight, okay? You may just think all of this is just memories for your future scrapbook, but the time to reminisce isn't now. We need the Lucy Van Pelt on our side to win this."

Patty walked off in the direction Violet had headed. She made sure Lucy was just in earshot before calling back.

"Oh and by the way, you may want to fix up your face. You're gonna have a hard time convincing anyone you're feeling good with that blotchy skin."

With that, Patty took off, a skip in her step and a smirk with her pep.

" _Leave it to her, to build someone up before tearing them down."_

Lucy smiled to herself. " _At least I know why I hang out with them though. There's nothing like surrounding yourself with knives ready to stab you in the back at any time. It's the perfect way to keep sharp and be prepared at all times."_

The blue clad girl brushed a hand through her hair before letting her smile drop.

"Of course, if they were as sharp as me they would've seen the whole gallery and not just the full picture."

Rising from her spot, Lucy sauntered back to her house, fully aware of the position she was in.


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Note:**

Hey everyone! I hope you're enjoying this story. As you can probably guess I'm trying to make a weekly update for each new chapter. I have a very loose plan with what I want to do with these characters but I guarantee you'll want to stick around to read this. This chapter in particular was very hard for me to write as Frieda's is such a uniquely written character in the Peanuts world. I'm trying to expand on the Peanuts characters while keeping true to their original vision. Hopefully you don't find them too different! I've taken up enough of your time already though. Please enjoy this next chapter!

* * *

A Peanuts Tale

 **Chapter 5: All for One but None for All**

 **Featuring: Sally Brown, Frieda, Peppermint Patty, and Marcie**

Hairspray.

Lotion.

Lip-gloss.

Cologne.

Some makeup here, some deodorant there.

Every person has their own personal ritual for getting ready. For some, it was a quick brush of teeth followed by quickly throwing on whatever smells halfway decent. For others it required strenuous attention to detail, taking both extended time and care. Whether one strived for natural or artificial beauty, nearly all had a desire to impress.

On this particular Saturday night, teenagers from all around the area were to gather to enjoy themselves for one last night of summer vacation. It was right before this celebration was to occur that dozens of boys and girls prepared themselves for the coming occasion.

Sally Brown had spent the last few hours preening herself in every imaginable way. She put on her foundation and makeup powder. She added blush and eyeliner. Her hair was brushed repeatedly to keep out any split ends and styled with hairspray. The golden haired girl found her best, most precious perfume she had in her collection and lightly fragranced herself with it. Finally, she donned the outfit she had prepared for the evening and took a look at herself in the mirror.

" _Watch out world, an angel is walking this earth."_ Sally was smiling from ear to until a small, almost unnoticeable question crept into her brain.

" _Who exactly am I dressing up for, though?"_

That thought made Sally falter, just for an instant. However, she quickly gave herself a wakeup slap and snapped out of her momentary weakness. She was not about to let all of this effort she had go to waste. She was going to look good and draw every boy's lustful eyes and every girl's jealous gaze. Maybe then, she could finally get over that one stupid crush that she had harbored all of these years.

Leaving her room, Sally hurried down the hall and to the living room. Glancing down at the couch she took one final look at her plan in motion. Considering it acceptable she turned and stepped to her front door. Before opening it however, she gave one uttered one last ultimatum in to the house.

"Like I said, you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. So you better make sure I get off scot-free tonight if you want what I promised you."

With that Sally went through the doorway and strode off towards her nightly engagement.

* * *

If a Sally existed in the world than that meant that there was also a Frieda. If a Sally did everything in her power to impress others to help herself, a Frieda did nothing. For Frieda, beauty and confidence came naturally. Since a young age she has always taken pride in her figure, never doubtful of her own attractiveness. Not once in her life did she feel the need to impress anyone. In her mind, she was already flawless.

Frieda was standing in front of her bathroom mirror, checking over herself. "Let's see, let's see. Nails? Perfect. Eyes. Done. Hair? Like I even need to ask!"

Frieda had what could only be described as an hourglass figure. Her body had matured in all of the right places and she had grown out of her childish features. Truly, it was only her naturally curly ginger hair that remained of her old appearance.

Despite such an extremely vain personality, Frieda was not at all a condescending person. On the contrary, she was a very approachable person Despite being known to occasionally make any chance to talk become a conversation about her, Frieda was always willing to chat with whoever was willing. It wasn't that she was not one to judge others. Rather, Frieda had reasoned that every person had certain expectations in life they had to live up to. Whatever one used to get by in life, whether it be their charm or intellect, she was fine with.

A phone rung from a small purse. Frieda pulled it out and answered the call.

"Hello. Oh hi, mom. Yeah, I'm doing fine. No, I remember what you said. Listen, don't worry, mom. Everything's going to be okay here. I'm only inviting a few friends over tonight. Nothing big, I swear."

" _Okay, as of now we're looking at forty-five people based solely on invites. That's not including the number of one-free guests we'll be getting from each invited person. Nor does this account for all of the freeloaders…"_

 _"_ How many? About four friends are coming over. Five if I'm lucky."

The red-headed daughter being of such immense beauty meant that people, including her parents, expected her to be more outgoing and open. This led her mother and father to actively encouraging her towards being a highly sociable person, freely engaging with whoever. It was through trial and error that Frieda learned aggressiveness was not the way to deal with people but rather through persuasion. She rarely if ever raised her tone at another person and instead buttered up others as was traditional of a pretty lady such as herself.

"Yes, I promise there will be no boys here. Your rules are what keep me safe. The most exciting that's going to happen tonight is going to be a movie. It really does suck though that after spending all that time in a salon yesterday I can't display myself to more people…"

Her glamor gave her great popularity among her peers. She became an idol of sorts for many of the boys in the town who worshipped her elegance. Many girls became envious of her illustriousness as a result. Frieda prized herself for this attention, seeing it as proof of her following what was only natural for a sight such as herself.

"Okay mom, I'll talk to you later. Bye!" A push on a screen and the phone call ended.

It was because of her love of attention that Frieda decided on this day, all eyes would be on her and her naturally curly hair. The plan was simple and perfect. She was to hold the summer's biggest bash at her house while her parents were away on a business trip. It was to be loud, huge, and entertaining, all while being the bookend of summer festivities. Every teen in the town would know her as the host of this colossal party and she would draw the most fame out of her whole clique.

Yes, she felt a twinge of guilt for propping for herself up while her friends stayed behind. It wasn't like her friends had wronged her. Still, her mind was set and her red locks couldn't wait to be adored any longer.

" _The doors to the house open in an hour and then it's the sweet, sweet sound of admiration for me._ "

Everything had been planned out to a tee. Frieda was to provide the food while Violet and Patty brought the drinks. The first floor would be completely open while the second floor bedrooms were off-limits. She did have to worry about noise complaints but since this wasn't the first party Frieda had thrown she figured she could risk it for now. However, the secret to her success, that is her master plan, was in the form of an unsuspecting guest invited to the party.

Satisfied with her plans, Frieda jumped with joy on top of her bed, trying her best to wear herself out and relax. Yet try all she might, the anticipation of the event was far too great and she ended up giggling excitedly for what was to come.

"Nothing is going to keep me down today. After all, I'm in the prime of my game."

* * *

"Sir, I think you're past your prime."

On the other side of town in a not too shabby room were two young women, one in a chair and the other on the floor. The one on the ground was struggling in keeping herself up while the girl in the chair casually observed her form.

"Nonsense, I haven't begun to peak. By the way, don't call me sir!"

Patricia Reichardt, known as Peppermint Patty to her friends, was doing her daily indoor exercise routine. This was the fifth set of pushups she had done today following six sets of crunches and four sets of squats. Marcie happened to stop by just as Peppermint Patty had finished her fourth set of pushups and unsurprisingly she teasingly criticized her friend's efforts in her moment of weakness.

"This happens to be the one hundredth and…twentieth pushup I've done today. Excuse me, if I'm not at my best right now."

"It looks to me sir like you're out of shape. Having you been eating properly these last few weeks? Any bodily issues I should be concerned about-"

"Marcie!"

The sandy haired athlete finally collapsed after finishing her one hundredth and thirtieth pushups, her arms now sore and her energy drained.

"See…look at that. I did ten more than I needed to! You call that 'past my prime', Marcie?"

"For the average teenage female that indeed is an impressive feat of physical strength. However, to someone who's seen you consistently hit two hundred pushups a day before going out and playing hockey this is, what I call, underwhelming."

Marcie adjusted the frames of her glasses. Age hadn't affected her much. She was still one of the smartest people among her peers. Her dark brown was still cut short to her chin and her body was still petite, albeit more endowed than before. Peppermint Patty however, had grown considerably. She was taller than your average teenaged girl and brawnier. Her sandy brown hair was now shoulder length, still as unkempt and unclean as ever. Marcie wore a red polo shirt with a pair of dark grey sweatpants while Peppermint Patty wore a striped green tank top with knee length cargo shorts.

"Yeah, well, we all have our good and bad days. It's not like even I don't get exhausted now and then."

"I'm concerned for you, sir. I got back home from scholar camp a week ago and every day I've seen you since you've acted weaker than usual!"

"Oh yeah, your scholar camp…I forgot about that."

"Sir, please listen to me. I don't if you're sick or just feeling unwell but I know something is wrong with you. I can see it. You have talk about it with me."

Peppermint Patty sighed before rolling onto her back. She looked up directly into Marcie's face and saw the worried expression on her face. Her best friend did care for her. She knew that.

" _I just can't tell her everything though. That would only make things worse."_

Not wanting to further upset her friend, Patty put on a fake smile and gave a hearty laugh.

"Me, sick? Dream on, Marcie. You've known me for more than ten years now! When I have ever let a little cold slow me down? I told you, I've just been a bit tired lately. I played in two baseball tournaments before you came home, back to back games and everything. I can still feel the glove on my hand. I haven't given myself time to rest but I'll be good as new in a couple of days!"

Not convinced at all of her friend's explanation Marcie nevertheless went along with her friend's answer. She knew prying any further could result in best friend walling herself off which usually led to no communication whatsoever.

"Well, we'll see, sir. I must admit that you should find the time to rest up, even for a little bit. What with school starting-"

"Ugh! Don't even get me started on school! The tests, the teachers, the questions, it's all a nightmare! I just want to keep my mind as far away from that place as possible."

Marcie chuckled to herself. As much as she thought Peppermint Patty had transformed over time, some things never did change.

" _Frankly, I'm thankful they haven't._ "

It was then that an idea popped into Marcie's head. Her best friend needed something to ease her mind off her problems and the stress of an upcoming school year. She just so happened to know of an activity that might help lighten her mood.

"Hey, sir, if you don't mind me asking, how interested are you in parties?"

"Well that depends. Are we talking school organized dances or full blown, off the hook, house parties?"

"The latter, sir."

"If so, all you need to give me is the time and place."

The pair of friends gave each other a smirk.

"Of course, sir."

"Oh! There's one more thing, Marcie."

"What?"

"Stop calling me, sir!"

"…yes, sir."


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:**

I apologize with the slight delay! This chapter may feel a bit slow and stale but don't worry! Things should really start heating up once more and more of the Peanuts gang shows up. So for now, please enjoy!

* * *

A Peanuts Tale

 **Chapter 6: It's Our Time, Everyone**

 **Featuring: Violet Gray, Frieda, Pig-Pen, Patty, and Shermy**

" _Oh how I hate thee Lucy, let me count the ways. One, you have the audacity to make me look bad, even when you inherently come off as a tramp. Two, you talk as if I'm a child during our chit-chats, when I'm clearly older and far more mature than you. Three, and most insulting of all, you've stolen my thunder., Yes, you robbed me of my image and warped it into some twisted little act of your own, to cover up the frailties of your sorry self. To the outside world we may show flashes of friendship to all the faces in public, but we both know what we really are, Lucy. When it comes down to it, you're but a pathetic copycat who's about to be shown up by the original._ "

In the lavish world of Violet Gray, envy came easy and disgust was ingrained. For all of her life, Violet never had to deal with a more aggravating person, save for one bald headed kid.

" _This room alone is worth more than you ever hope to be, Lucy. Silk curtains, European furniture, custom made linens, and designer furniture all were proudly given to me by my father. The sheets I'm sitting on now, valued more than your entire wardrobe, should firmly establish who's who on the totem pole. So, why, why, why, do you keep behaving all high and mighty?!_ "

Every little thing, Lucy and Charlie Brown did or said was grating on Violet's spirit. The extreme bossiness of one and the submissiveness of the other was far too agonizing for her to handle. Violet prided herself as a charming young lady. She had the words to make people do what she wanted but preferred basking in private victories rather than crowded ovations. To put it bluntly, Violet was not as much of an attention seeker s others would think. Still, she competed for the limelight with others, yet only to steal it out under their noses and take satisfaction in showing her superiority. Violet was a true prima donna, and relished in the notion of being one.

"It's either you or your family that always shows up to play "teacher" isn't it? One of you are always going on and on trying to sound sagely and intelligent while loving every minute you look down at us. Well, guess what, Lucy? I've been preparing a special lesson for you to learn tonight. One that will stick with you for the rest of your life."

A cellphone sitting next to Violet lit up from the notification of a new message. The ebony haired girl unlocked the screen to read the text she had received.

 _All good to go here._

The faint mien of fiendishness found its place on the young lady's face.

"Never, under any circumstances, should you piss off a Gray."

* * *

Once upon a time in a small quiet borough laid a house slightly above average size. In this home on this particular evening no adults were home. Instead a lone little girl was given charge over the household. Therefore, it was on this special occasion that the daughter opened the floodgates to her house at 9:00 p.m. and allowed her invited guests to flow into her house for one big party.

On the front balcony of the house stood Frieda in an outfit befitting her prideful demeanor. A golden yellow cocktail dress was arrayed on her frame with an amber bow adorned across the abdomen. Her legs were fitted by black tights and her feet were tailored with open toed black wedge sandals. When it was all put together, her outfit was form fitting and visually alluring. To top it all off, her hair was in pitch perfect shape and she smelled of recently bloomed roses.

The lovely young woman addressed her the guests gathering inside. "Welcome to summer break's last and greatest party! Come one, and come all! Have fun, and remember the pretty face that allowed all this to happen!"

Frieda's charm, though genuine in tone, did not seem to break the ice with a lot of the newcomers in the house. Truly, she was perplexed by this.

" _You have music playing, food on the table, and me to look at. What more could you want right now? Come on, girl, I can't wait for the drinks to come to get things rolling. Ugh, I need a freaking miracle to get these people warmed up!"_

"Of course everyone will remember me!"

Heads around the room turned in the direction of this pompously spoken statement. Right as this was happening, a cloud of dust brusquely draped the entrance room when the new voice appeared. Fits of coughing and gasping stirred near the aforementioned source. Standing at the eye of the dusty storm stood a gangly male figure with strands of brown hair rising from his head as if he were electrified. It didn't take a genius to know that these strange occurrences could only mean that the boy indubitably nicknamed Pig-Pen had entered the scene.

"What the- no! I wasn't talking about you!"

The dirt filled air prevented Frieda from arguing any further. Her breaths had already caused her to swallow some of the dust and now she was hacking and wheezing just as much as anyone else near the unclean boy. Luckily for them Pig-Pen was a special kind of dirty. For reasons unknown to the minds of science, the young man had the unique ability to draw in dust and dirt around him. To put it in simple terms, he was a like a vacuum that wore its catch on the outside.

Pig-Pen put his hands behind his head and gave a lazy smirk. "Well you could've fooled me!"

The thick mood in the air quickly dissipated into welcoming atmosphere as the room erupted into laughter at Pig-Pen's antics. Despite the hygienic problems one had to deal with when in contact with him, Frieda knew it was worth bringing the messy kid around for the vim and vigor he brought to groups. Few other people had that constant enthusiasm in the face of criticism that Pig-Pen had.

With the early bird tension released, the party began getting into full swing. Kids from around town and the surrounding area flocked to get into the house. Though the invites given out totaled less than fifty, Frieda surmised at least one hundred people would end up attending based on the quantity of cars lining down the road. Thus the naturally curly haired girl was filled with glee seeing at how great of a turnout she had. However, the redhead was a bit dismayed at the noticeable lack of her close friends in attendance. That of course, ended quickly when the door opened once more and a pair went through.

"Hey, how's my little girl doing?"

"Oh my god! It's taken forever for you to show up!"

Patty and a tall young man had made it into the entryway of the house. Always one to look her best, Patty was dressed in an orange swing dress with newly bought bronze heels. What was really new, however, was the chin length hair on Patty's head, now dyed a strawberry blonde hue.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. When did this happen?"

"Oh, you mean this? Patty twisted around one her head's locks.

"I just had this done a few hours ago. I was thinking about it for a while actually."

"But why?" Frieda inquired. You've always loved how hair had been before. Not to say this is bad or anything, quite the opposite actually. I just feel like his this a surprising change coming from you."

"Eh, you know, I just didn't feel okay with it anymore. Plus, change isn't a bad thing, you know? At least I can see how people think of it first before I decide if it's just a temporary shift. Besides, what better place can I test the waters for it than this tsunami of a party?"

"Ah, so a mirror isn't enough of an answer for you anymore, is it?"

A lower pitched voice broke into the conversation. It came from above, at least six feet and two inches one could estimate. The teenaged male who was with Patty didn't seem to want much attention but unfortunately couldn't help it given his physical bearing. The young man carried himself listlessly, a beige flannel shirt and a pair of dark grey jeans clinging to his astonishingly muscular form. A pair of worn out tan loafers covered his large feet. He gave no real indication that he had put much effort into cleaning up in this nighttime event save for a fresh new crew cut on the top of his head.

"Shermy, show a little tact. After all, we're with good company now."

"Hmph. So I can be tactless around less than good company? Is that it? That's real, great advice to give to people. For the man that just got his first job and is surrounded by only "decent' company, just those wise words. You can be as tactless as you want, no strings attached."

"Shermy, please-"

"Yeah, yeah, I apologize. It's just been a rough day, that's all. I mean with you dragging me to this party and before that the coach pushing me into extra practice, well, I'm a bit high-strung is all.

"Really? The varsity quarterback for first string is high strung?" Frieda remarked.

"Ha, what are the odds of that?" Shermy sarcastically replied.

A soft chuckle escaped the lips of the big boy. For a split second it almost seemed as if the small joke had been able to crack open the hard shell around him. Still, the apathetic expression once again found its place on Shermy's face.

"Ah well. I think I'll go see what 5's up to. Catch you guys later."

With that, Shermy treaded off into the crowd, wading through the sea of people. Both girls followed the young man's movement but Frieda secretly took a glance at Patty's face. An emotion, that could only be described as begrudging acceptance, found a vacant spot on Patty's cheeks. Yet the blonde haired girl shook her head, though, and returned her normal chipper manner with a forced smile.

"Well, seeing as how this party is getting hotter by the second I think some refreshments are in need of acquirement."

"Patty-"

"Lucky for you, I just so happen to know a guy who could get whatever kind of stuff you could want for an extra price. I was able to get everything over thanks to Shermy's truck but I might need a little help getting it out seeing as how he's busy-"

"Patty, are you going to be okay?"

The fiery haired girl gave a dead serious stare straight into blonde's eyes. Synth beats and loud cheers faded into the background for a brief period. In this sole space the two girls stood as statues, each waiting with a gaze for the other's zealous facade to collapse.

Patty was the one who made the first move.

"Why wouldn't I be okay? It's the last party of summer, Frieda! We don't have time to lose worrying about minuscule things."

Frieda sighed, giving Patty the benefit of the doubt for now.

"Alright, then. I'm all with you."

"Good. Now why don't we start spicing things up in here?"

The blonde headed off back to Shermy's truck with Frieda in tow. One wore a false beam on her lips and the other pushed a lying acceptance of it.


	7. Chapter 7

A Peanuts Tale

 **Chapter 7: If Wishes Were Horses, Beggars Would Ride**

 **Featuring: Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Violet, and Franklin**

Electronic tunes bounced off of walls. Sweat drops glistened on adolescents' skin. Blood pumped in rhythm with the beat of the songs. The gathering had grown, but the night was still young.

Enter Lucy Van Pelt. For someone unoccupied with thoughts of finding any real beauty competition, Lucy appeared as the first snowflake of the season. She was wearing a strapless navy blue tube dress that reached down halfway through her thighs. Her hair had been arranged to have the length of it straightened while the ends were curled. Her nails were done in remarkable fashion, having an aquamarine finish.

The mouths of juvenile boys went agape for the knockout Lucy had become. The jaw-dropping stunner attracted the sneers of her fellow females.

" _Typical teenagers._ " Lucy scoffed in her head. " _Always the most superficial when it comes to determining appeal. It almost pleases me to see how easily I can make a mass's mood swing._ "

The midnight haired girl had mused over aiding her friends by backstabbing another. Their offer had been shallow, with the hidden price of Violet and Patty being rid of a potential rival being easy to see. On this rare occasion however, Lucy felt much more inclined to spoil herself in drink and fervor than put herself in a social pit of social survival.

"Lucy! What a pleasant surprise!"

"Hi, Frieda. Nice crowd you have here."

"I know, right? I was expecting a couple of people to show up given the invitations I sent out but this has been unexpected!"

" _Liar"_

"Yeah, who would've thought throwing an "end of summer" soirée could bring together this many drunken, hormonal young people."

"Speaking of that, I wasn't sure you were coming tonight, Lucy. Violet and Patty had been texting me about you acting strange the last couple of days and Sally, who you somehow talk with most now, hasn't even answered any of my calls-"

"First off, don't listen to a word those two say about me. What point is there in trusting the words of a pair who can't go five seconds spewing some new gossip like a diarrhea stricken cow. Also, Sally has been under house arrest since earlier this week so don't expect any messaging from her unless it comes through me. Finally, don't pretend I'm some alien creature who's new to human culture and its traditions. I, like any other brand marketed teenaged girl, am rebellious and complicated. Tonight, I'm going to whisk myself away from all my worries through the power of bass and bottles."

"Ah, I so I take it you're not in a bad mood then?"

"Frieda, for once I think I can really unwind."

"Hello, Lucy."

" _Great, some luck I have."_

"Hi, Violet."

"Gee, isn't it strange how we arrived at nearly the same time?"

"Speak of the devil…"

Violet waltzed into the party wearing a black long sleeved lace shirt and a pleated dark purple skirt. An updo ponytail topped her head while black ankle boots enclosed her feet. Her skin shone like a sparkling pearl.

"Hey, Frieda! Thank you so much for having me over. I could not be more impressed with what you've pulled off here."

"Aw, thank you, Violet! It's always nice to be encircled with your friends in dark hours like these. I mean, I don't know about you guys but I do not need to be starting another year of English anytime soon."

"Haha, I know right! It's such a terrible class!"

"Ha, yeah. I mean, only an idiot would struggle to get through English when they've spoke it their whole lives, right?"

Both Frieda and Violet uncomfortably shifted on their toes at that last statement. Lucy smugly grinned to herself. She knew of each of her friends' successes and failures when it came to school. That included their grades. After evaluating each of their standing Lucy had come to the conclusion that she was unequivocally at the top of the intellectual pyramid.

"Well, anyways I just remembered that Poochie was looking for me. Apparently she was in the neighborhood and was looking for pet advice a fellow animal lover. Crazy, right? Anyways, I've got to go. Have fun and don't be a stranger!"

With that, Frieda ran off leaving the two dark haired girls alone. Lucy was about to exit herself when Violet spoke up.

"So, have you thought about my offer?"

The Van Pelt daughter paused in her tracks.

"You mean your pathetic plea for help?"

"Listen, Lucy. It's obvious we have some bad blood between us. I know it, you know it, the whole world practically knows it. Despite that though, wouldn't you rather put aside our differences to face a common enemy?"

"You're implying that rosy haired baby doll is some real threat to me?"

"Not directly to you, no. However, I wouldn't be surprised if letting her be for now leads to unintended consequences. After all, Frieda is a gorgeous girl with a very particular taste for the classical…"

Goosebumps began to form on the nape of Lucy's neck. A chilling notion coalesced in her conscience.

"That wouldn't- no, that couldn't-"

"Happen? Of course it can, sweetie. Frieda's a very upfront person and we both know I'm not talking about music."

"Violet stepped in close to where her frosty breath could be felt on Lucy's skin.

"So let me be forward when I say that you should be on our side, and not your own. We can help each other Lucy, not just spit in each other's eye. You're a smart person and I imagine you know I'm not just being catty when I say that as you are now, it's easy seeing any boy pick Frieda over you."

Lucy snapped at that statement. She was not going to go down that road tonight.

"Don't you ever start that with me! I don't know what your obsession is over me, Violet, but it's gotten really out of hand as of late."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"All this stuff you're concerned over is about me. You're acting like I'm the center of your universe where every conflict and story revolves around me. Well, guess what, Violet? I'm not the star anymore. It's high time you start thinking about your place in this universe because as of now, you're more focused on riling me up to get a reaction that suits your needs. That's not going to happen tonight."

Lucy walked off, but not before stopping to deliver some final words.

"I really don't know what you want, Violet. You're a smart person and I imagine you all people know when I'm honest. I just hope that you can find whatever truth you need in order to reevaluate your whole life. As it stands now, I honestly have no idea how you expect stay relevant in long run."

With that, Violet was left alone.

" _Oh don't worry about me, Lucy. Sure you might've caught on a bit to what I intended for you to do but that doesn't mean things are over, yet. Relevance is relative, dear. People only think your big if what you do and what you are hits close to home_."

Violet took out her cellphone and began typing.

 _Showtime in 30._

"What better way to stay relevant than being the most talked about person at the beginning of the school year?"

* * *

Charlie Brown had a wish.

It wasn't some big, momentous wish that alter the very fabric of the universe. Nor was it some eternally life defining wish that would completely upend Charlie Brown's life. No, what Charlie Brown had was a small little dream, an ounce of hope he prayed he would be given.

What Charlie Brown longed for was a dance partner.

It was a silly thing to wish for, he knew. Had a genie appeared out of nowhere with all the magical prowess to satisfy one's desires, it wouldn't be surprising to see the magical creature laugh at Charlie Brown's request. Yet, deep down in his heart he knew there's wasn't much else in the world he could possibly yearn for so honestly.

Truth be told, Charlie Brown wasn't known for being the most charming person in town. If anything, his personality and reputation acted as a force field from many possible social opportunities. The people Charlie most talked to this day were the friends he made in his childhood. Even then, they themselves had spread outward and found relationships of their own. At the end of the day, Charlie Brown felt that he was slowly but surely losing touch with people.

That's why he always loved the one-on-one talks he had with his closest friends. He cherished every second he shared with them, from the humorous small talk to the metaphysical discussions. It was these few instances of intimacy that really kept Charlie Brown going. At these times he was certain of who he was, his identity as an individual and part of a community.

Yet, knowing that these moments could be left behind in time scared Charlie Brown. He feared of that day when he no longer could be next to someone and open himself up. In his heart, more than anything, he wanted to make the greatest memories out of these last few possible encounters. He wanted them to be unforgettable, so much that the bald headed teenager would always be able to look back and feel where he was and what he had felt like.

So his wish was a bit melodramatic but it was also innocent. Charlie Brown only wanted a single dance to always relish in his life.

" _This is it. The is what you've been waiting for. One step into that house and I'll have begun my journey to a happier life. If I'm lucky, I might even get asked to dance. Heck, if I'm confident enough I might ask someone to dance! There won't be a better opportunity than this. Out with the old and in with th-"_

"Charlie Brown?"

Having zoned out for inner pep talk, Charlie Brown was unaware that he had already gone inside the house. Facing him a few feet away was none other than his pal Franklin.

"Franklin! Wow, it's good to see you."

"Same here, Charlie. I will say though, that you're the last person I expected to find tonight."

Franklin was approximately the same height as Charlie Brown. He was clean shaven and kept his hair well-groomed in a military cut, as if at any chance he were to be sent off to the army as his dad had been. He was donned in a mandarin polo with green striped drainpipe jeans.

"Ha, I wasn't expecting to be here myself. My legs decided to carry me over and well, here I am."

"That's Charlie Brown, alright. Doing the unexpected unexpectedly. I haven't caught up with you these last few months. Never did catch you on the field either. I take it you were on a break?"

" _Uh oh. I never planned on talking about my disappearance on the baseball field."_

"Uh, yeah, I was just focused on getting a head start for school is all. You can't ever be too prepared."

It seemed Franklin bought the excuse for the moment because he went right on in talking.

"Aren't you right about that. I myself picked up a few practice materials for the upcoming SAT and ACT. I figured I start getting ready now and by day beforehand I'll be as apt as Sun Tzu."

"Man, that's great, although I don't know who Sun Tzu is."

"You should keep reading then, Charlie Brown."

"Isn't that the truth."

They both heartily laughed at the others declarations. Franklin and Charlie Brown were old friends and had always been comfortable speaking with each other.

Charlie Brown inquired Franklin further. "How's you summer been by the way? Last I checked you were still playing center field in the county club leagues."

"It's been a wild season. I'll tell you that much. A lot of competition this year both old and new. Peppermint Patty still put in work as our pitcher and pickup hitter but things just seemed a bit different this time around."

"How so?"

"I don't exactly know. She was playing less…passionately than usual. We still made it to the finals this year but in the last game you could tell she was just out of it."

"Hold up. Are you telling me that Peppermint Patty's team lost?"

"Well don't act so shocked, Chuck."

Lo and behold, Peppermint Patty was standing behind Charlie Brown, her ears catching the very last of the two boys conversation,

"Patty, you were listening?"

"Just because we've beaten your team in every game, Chuck, doesn't mean we don't have our own flukes now and then."

"I suppose so…"

"Heh, don't get too upset about it. We all have our ups and downs. For me, it's just a 13-1 record this past season. For you, it's a series of misfortunate events."

Peppermint Patty wrapped her left arm around Charlie Brown's shoulders.

"So lay it on me, Chuck. What have you really been doing this summer?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:**

 **I apologize for the delay! I had trouble writing this chapter. To make up for the wait, I decided to make it a bit longer. Please enjoy!**

* * *

A Peanuts Tale

 **Chapter 8: Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder**

 **Featuring: Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Franklin, Linus, Sally, and Frieda**

The mood of the evening had reached peak enjoyment. Youth all around the house had submerged themselves in hedonistic entertainment. Sweat drops rained from the ceiling as the heat intensified within the rooms. In a corner next to the stairs were Charlie Brown, Franklin, Peppermint Patty, and Marcie, all crowded around a small little end table sitting on a sectional green couch. The sandy haired tomboy was happily sipping down punch while her three companions were chewing on the snacks provided for the place.

"God only knows what's been put in the punch, but I'll be lying if I said it isn't good."

"You might want to slow down, sir. You don't want to be filling yourself up without having food in your stomach."

"Nonsense, Marcie! My gut's a tank! I can rival the camels of the Sahara when it comes to drinking! That being said, I didn't come here just for some fruity drinks. So tell me, Chuck, how's life been for you?"

Charlie Brown picked up a pretzel laying on his small plate and idly played with it between his fingers.

"Ah, you know, Patty. Same old, boring adventures as usual."

"A boring adventure with you?" Peppermint Patty winked in his direction. "I'm shocked Chuck, truly shocked."

"Ha, ha, very funny. It's always great be reminded of my entertaining personality"

Franklin and Marcie both shrunk inwardly a bit at the blunt sarcasm Charlie Brown used on himself. They were both keen on noticing their friend's slight irritation over the constant badgering he received over his occasional bland nature. Peppermint Patty however, whether due to genuine ignorance or not, guffawed at his words.

"Ha, oh boy, Chuck, you sure know how to get me." Wiping a tear from her eyes after her fit of laughter she suddenly regained her composure. "Seriously though, I haven't seen you anywhere near a baseball diamond these last three months. You've been N.I.A!"

"You mean M.I.A., sir.?"

"Point taken, Marcie. The fact still stands. Surely, you've been up to something interesting in all that time you've been gone?"

"Well, I wouldn't say it was anything especially intriguing…"

"What was it then: a summer camp filled with bugs and no contact to the outside world, a family vacation where you just happened to get left behind, an incredible tale of survival involving a collapsed mine and using only your brain to stay alive?"

"Patty, you might wanna lay off on all the questions." said Franklin. "I doubt Charlie Brown wants to feel so pressured right now. I mean for starters; did you honestly expect him to come in the first place?"

"Well, no…it is good to see you though, Chuck."

"Same, here Patty."

A faint blush crept across the tomboys' cheeks. Had it not been for the impromptu red lamp lighting of the party rooms, one would easily catch the girl's visible embarrassment. Lucky for her, Charlie Brown was a bit slow on the uptake.

"W-well, I'm actually getting pretty hungry now. Having seen all that finger food you guys are stuffing in your mouths I could really go for some myself."

"What perfect timing! I was just about to head back over to the snack table myself. Say, why don't you come with me Charlie Brown so we can bring back a plate for everyone?"

"Huh, well I don't-"

"Let's go, man. We need to stretch our legs anyway."

With that, Franklin dragged Charlie Brown, leaving the two girls behind. If perchance some unlucky individual happened to catch a glance at the two, they may find themselves suffocated by the heavy air clouding around them. Neither Marcie or Peppermint Patty was inclined to bring up the subject previously discussed. However, Marcie was a particularly curious individual and her nosiness got the better of her judgement.

"That was a sudden change in appetite, sir. A bit too spontaneous if I may say so."

"Oh, stop blabbing. I just feel a bit sluggish is all. I need all the sugary and salty stuff I can get.

"I don't think sucrose and carbohydrates will remove your lassitude."

"Lassitude?"

"Yes, sir."

The lime clad tomboy clicked her sandals together. Marcie assumed she had settled down, but the girl's voice suddenly cut through the room.

"Of course it won't!" Peppermint Patty stood up, shouting her revelation to the ceiling "Since when did eating food stop anyone from being a girl?"

"Sir, that's not what…never mind. Listen, I think we need to address the elephant in the room."

"Come on, Marcie. Just because we're packed in with a bunch of high school animals doesn't mean we can call this place a zoo."

"Sir, I know the difference from when you're acting dumb and you just really are. Right now, you're avoiding the problem."

Peppermint Patty turned her head away, pupils shifted away from the glares of her confronter.

"I'm not…trying to avoid it. Really I'm not. It's just- okay look, I'm antsy is all. There, will that shut you up?"

"You're nervous?" asked Marcie.

"Yeah. Isn't that normal though? I mean if you ever saw someone you'd been wanting to see for a long time and finally had the chance to ask them things you wanted to, wouldn't you be a little on edge too?"

"Perhaps... I would be a bit anxious."

"Anyone would, Marcy!"

"You might be right, sir. Still, that doesn't excuse you battering poor Charles with question and question. You know how fragile he can be under assault like that."

"Yeah, you're right. I just really missed him is all. I wanted to catch up, find out things I didn't know."

" _You didn't ask anything about me when I came back."_

"I gotta know, Marcie. I have to know why he vanished, why he-"

"Didn't see you?"

"heh… sometimes I feel like you can read my mind, Marcie."

"If only, sir."

 _"_ _If only…"_

* * *

"If only I was a good man."

"What was that, Charlie?"

"Oh, nothing."

The round headed boy and Franklin were by the food table, piling various assortments of sweets and food on their plates. Stacks of chips, crackers, and candies were lined down the tabletop.

"Hey Charlie Brown, can I ask you a personal question?"

"Um, if it's about what Peppermint Patty was asking…"

"No, no, I'm not asking about that. I could tell from your reaction that whatever you've been doing this summer is not something you're ready to talk about to just anyone. The paparazzi I am not."

"Heh, considering how quickly you catch on to things, I say you could do well with them."

"Hmm, there's always someday. For now, though, I have to know: who made you come to this party?"

"Uh, what do you mean, who?"

"Charlie Brown if I know two things about you it's that you have the devil's luck and would never set foot into a party just for the heck of it. You've hated them since we were kids. The dancing, the mob of people, the overload of senses, it's just not you."

"Well that was then, and this is now. I've decided I a while ago that I need to rethink my attitude on things. This party is the optimal place to start."

"So you swear you weren't hogtied here by some raving mad person to be forced to have fun?"

" _Well, hogtied might be a bit of an exaggeration…"_

Charlie Brown swallowed a lump in his throat. "I swear Franklin, I'm here of my own free will."

"Well, if you say so..."

"I do. Besides, who says Charlie Brown can't let loose every now and then? I can't always act like I have a stick up my butt."

"Ha, I understand. Speaking of letting loose, Patty seemed to be overflowing with excitement to see you."

"You think so? I guess she was more interested in me than usual."

"More than usual? If anything I'd say that's the usual amount of interest Peppermint Patty tends to take with you."

"Huh, you really think so?"

"You mean hadn't noticed?"

"Actually, I haven't. Whenever we do talk it seems like I'm the one invested in the conversation."

Franklin gave an expressionless look across the piled delicacies.

"Charlie Brown?"

"Yes?"

"You really are clueless, aren't you?"

"Umm…"

"Don't worry about it. Come on, let's get these plates back to the girls. I'm sure somebody's dying to see us back."

* * *

"Oh Lord, why you of all people?"

Linus had arrived exactly when the party was in full swing. He had tried contacting Charlie Brown in hopes of going together but he hadn't answered. Linus just assumed he had chickened out of his bet with Lucy. Yet for some inane reason, Linus just had to go and see if the blockhead would be there.

Yet right as he got into a line of people waiting to get in, his ears had picked up on her voice.

"Come on, come one! This isn't Grand Central Station! Pick up the pace, people!"

" _Her, her, why her?"_

Sally Brown was five people ahead of Linus in line. From here, he could only see the crown of her golden blonde hair but that and her sound was enough to confirm his fears.

" _No, no, no, I cannot run into her here. Of all the lousy, places to be, why did she have to drop by here tonight?"_

The answer was of course obvious to Linus, despite him not wanting it to be. Sally had become of one his sister's closest friends recently. The girl had been hanging out with Lucy and her colleagues on every little hangout they had. So it was expected that Sally would show up to this party, considering Lucy's entourage was practically hosting it.

Knowing that however, did not make Linus feel any better. He was already prepared for a rough enough time as is considering his sister was to be here. He did not need an additional headache this weekend; Charlie Brown had already given him a lifetime's worth earlier.

"I thought she was grounded! Why the heck is she out and about?"

"I'm not getting any younger here!" yelled the impatient Brown. "Some of us have our youth to enjoy!"

" _That does it. I won't be caught dead with her tonight. I'll find another way in."_

Stepping out of line, Linus walked back to the street. Quickly, he moved around the perimeter of the home crouching in the surrounding bushes and making his way to the backyard. The house was bigger than his own so it took longer than he expected to. Finally, he made it to the back where a few kids were drinking and loitering on the porch.

Linus made way to the backdoor. Grabbing the handle, he yanked it- only to find it locked.

"Dang it, I should've figured."

In vain, Linus scanned the outer walls, hoping to find an open window or something to go through. Not one place seemed like a suitable vantage point for Linus to use. Just as he was about to give up, something grabbed his attention.

In one of the windows near the corner of the house, Linus saw a flash of color. Had he been any less energized due to his encounter with Sally, he would've dismissed the sight as trick on his eyes. Yet here Linus was, fully awake, and aware of what he had seen.

Red. Red crimson tresses.

"Oh, now who might this be?"

The new enquiry brought Linus back to earth. Linus diverted his vision to the face from the now open back door. In his presence was none other Frieda, in all her glory.

"Now, who would've thought I'd find you of all people sneaking around back here. What's wrong, Linus? Afraid you'll get caught with contraband?"

"Ha, like I'd ever stoop to such low moral levels. It'd go against my religious code."

"Still, Mr. Right I take it? That's what's always been your problem, Linus. Always on the righteous path you are, never once taking a stroll on the wild side."

"I have enough anecdotal evidence to support my argument for not participating in such behavior, most notably coming from my own siblings."

"Hmm, can't argue there. Your brother and sister are the poster children for rebellious teenagers."

"Somebody's got to play the good kid part for our parents."

"Maybe. Yet if you spend all that work on being good," Frieda said, "eventually you're going to tire out or just get plain frustrated. What will you do then?"

"I'm sure I'll figure out something when the time comes."

"I'm not so sure. Life has a funny way of dropping unwanted problems into our lives at random."

"Says the monster who drops her cat off into the hands of any unfortunate sucker who's near."

Frieda feigned shock. "Aw, you wound me, Linus. After all, is the face or the hair of a monster?"

Linus smiled at her comment before silently observing her curly red hair. His eyes took in the shade of those frizzy ringlets. It radiated out in a fierce glow, embers of a fire nymph curling endlessly on her head.

"Um, Linus?"

The over observant boy had taken a minute too long staring, however.

"Uh, ah my bad, Frieda. I've just been distracted lately. You see, there's a guest of yours I'm not exactly on healthy terms with. I had been hoping they wouldn't turn up tonight but needless to say I saw their appearance ahead of me in line. I was hoping to get through another entrance and just avoid them for the rest of the party but unfortunately your door was locked and-"

"I get it Linus."

"…you do?"

"Yes, I understand perfectly."

"Oh, well that's great."

"You want me to keep you and Sally Brown from meeting tonight. Too bad, that's going to cost you Linus."

"Wait, how did you-"

"Figure out the one person other than your completely unavoidable sister that you'd not want to be around? Gee, it's really hard to narrow down Linus' list of enemies."

Linus sighed. "I'd really appreciate it if you did help me. That being said, I don't really have anything on me to offer you."

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there. You want to give me an offering? What do I look like, a volcano goddess?"

"I'd say you meet 75% of the qualifications."

"Why thank you, noble sir, but flattery will get you nowhere. You see I myself, am trying to stay together for this party. However, your sister and her friends are making things a bit, difficult to fully immerse myself in the mood."

"Your friends are getting on your nerves?"

"Oh right now, I'd do anything but call those ice queens friends right now. For the last half hour, they've been giving me the cold shoulder and every time I try and talk with a fellow partyer they jump in the conversation and cut me completely off from it. It's freaking annoying!"

Frieda furrowed her brows and arched her head back. A groan escaped her lips from the mountain of anxiety in her life. Linus was astonished to see Frieda's predicament.

"Wow, I had no idea about the struggles of a high school girl clique. I mean, I always theorized that in their most unsupervised environment, teenage girls would become like vicious competing predators towards each other. I never did think about how close to home that reality could be though."

"Yeah well, it's in my home now and I don't like it. Really I'd just like to get hit with a party buzz and coast myself through the rest of this evening but alas, no die."

Frieda pointed to Linus.

"That's where you come in."

"Me?"

"Yup, you. You're going to talk to me for as long as possible as I siphon cup after cup until I finally get into the zone."

"The _zone?_ "

The curly haired vixen grabbed both shoulders of her stiff companion. She aligned her eyes perfectly with his.

"Listen to me, Linus. You are singlehandedly both the most drawn out and intelligent talker I know. There's not another person I know that'll willingly give out a lecture to any pair of open ears. You're the only person I can rely on that will be able to act as the perfect white noise for my binging."

"Excuse me, but I don't feel like encouraging a bad habit for your sake."

"Listen Linus, Lucy wouldn't be caught dead talking to her own siblings at this party, much less Violet or Patty. Plus, with me next to you, Sally will be too intimidated to get near you, assuming Lucy even lets her off her leash, that is."

"Sally? Intimidated? I think you've lost your mind, Frieda."

"Trust me on this, Linus. I know things that could frighten a bear."

"I don't know…"

"Well, I don't have all night, Mr. Right. So what'll it be?"

Linus frantically weighted his options at the moment. On one hand he could just leave this party, go home, and be satisfied knowing he had absolutely chance of running into Sally Brown for the whole weekend again. On the other hand, he would be aiding one of his companions in continuing in their self-harming pleasures while he increased the chance of meeting that accursed woman from simply stepping into the house. Yet despite the outward negativity of the second option, a certain flash of red kept him from saying no.

"Alright, Frieda, you win. I'll keep you company for the evening."

"Oh, thank you, Linus. You don't have to sound so miserable about it, though. I'm quite the pleasant conservationist myself once I get the ball started rolling."

Grinning from ear to ear, Frieda turned on her heels and stepped back into the home.

"Well don't just stand there, come and join the party!"

With that, Linus entered the house, following behind the naturally curly haired girl. All the while he repeated the memory of the red shaded hair he caught earlier. Such a dark, passionate, red this was, surely to draw the hearts of any young man.

 _"_ _It just had to be straight, didn't it? O Charlie Brown, I pray for your soul."_


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:**  


 **I apologize for the delay! I was a bit under the weather and had trouble connecting some parts this chapter. I made it extra long considering the extended wait. Enjoy!**

* * *

A Peanuts Tale

 **Chapter 9: It's a Wonderful Life, Isn't It?**

 **Starring: Shermy, Rerun, Pig-Pen, Violet Gray, Patty, Lucy, and Sally with Company**

" _This is the last place I wanted to be at."_

Shermy had spent the majority of the evening tucked on a recliner next to wall. He had been conversing with several of guys he knew: 5, Pig-Pen, Rerun, and Benny. The boys found themselves listening to one Pig-Pen's recounting of an encounter with Violet. Although, all three of them were loudmouthed Shermy himself had kept relatively quiet, only adding the shortest remarks to seem somewhat invested in the conversations. Indeed, Shermy was playing an act to keep himself from being alone with people he'd rather not meet with.

"That's when I said to her, 'I dropped the ball alright'!"

"Bwahahaha!"

" _Ha ha. What a riot."_

Benny and Rerun burst into laughter at Pig-Pen's story. The comedic nature of the absurd tale he told was lost on Shermy though. True, he found it a bit funny, but there was a level of hijinks he tended to tolerate and Pigpen's antics were far beyond that marker.

"You still with us there, Shermy?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, don't mind me. I'm just mulling all that craziness you were a part of."

"Really?" 5 asked. "I never took you for the deep thinker type."

"I do a lot in my time."

"To be honest, Shermy," Pig-Pen started "I never really feel like anyone's gotten a hang on you."

"Come again?"

"I mean, to be fair, you're not exactly the most climbable branch in a tree."

"Uh, I'm sorry but I'm really not following you right now."

"What I'm trying to say is that for all the guys I've known in this town, you're one of the oldest ones I still hang with. Yet after all these years I've felt like I've barely gotten past your skin in a conversation. I can't get a read on you man!"

"What? Come on, I'm not like that."

"It's true!" Benny jumped in. "You're way too standoffish! Do you honestly expect anyone to hit it off with you if you keep dancing around anything personal? You never step up to the line."

"How can I do that when I have no idea where this imaginary line is?!" Shermy incredulously pondered this accusation. "It's not like I actively see this threshold of interpersonal conversation and continually back off from it."

"See, now you're just talking crazy." 5 said.

"Oh boy."

"Okay, maybe you don't see this line, but you do know it exists, right?"

"Right."

"Yeah, then show us you're not deliberately doing this." Rerun took the conversation into his hands. "Tell us something about yourself. Something you'd tell a friend like me, not a stranger."

"Define "friendship" in this context because I'm honestly not seeing that between us."

"What Benny is trying to say," Pig-pen interrupted, "is that you could learn to be a bit less "flat" when it comes to interacting with people."

 _"_ _Like I can help what I am."_

"Ok, what exactly do you want me to say to "expand" myself better."

"You know, I think this conversation took a weird turn," 5 noted.

Benny spoke up. "What I told you the first time, man. Tell us something deep about you."

" _They want deep? Do they know what they're asking for?"_

"Let me clue you guys in on something you probably don't know. You see my life is very simple in places where others tend to be very complex. I don't do deep because I honestly don't have anything worth dragging out of me. My passions are meek and bare to the world. I'm a manly sports enthusiast whose old fashioned hobbies are out of place in this new hipster world."

"So in other words, you're my grandpa trapped in a teenaged body."

"When you put it like that, yeah, I am."

"Yup. Back in the old days things were better. All we had to see in was black in white. We didn't bother with all this newfangled color like red, blue, and yellow."

A twinkle reflected in Shermy's eyes. It was as if he had dusted off an old photograph album from his youth and rediscovered its lost charm.

"Ha ha very funny. For real though, you guys don't know what's it's like. I'm part of the older crowd of people you know so imagine what it's been like for me seeing all this change happen. I still remember the day you were brought home from the hospital Rerun! Hell, I remember when your brother was still in diapers! Back then, the town was a lot quieter. The only way to fill up the empty air was with your imagination and the few pals you had around. You couldn't just go to the park and start up a hockey game out of the blue. No, it was every man for himself, and the women were mean, mean, mean."

"At least one thing hasn't changed."

With his body tense, the elder boy rubbed his palms together.

"Hmph, you have no idea. Yeah way back it was just me and Charlie Brown for a while, just us two guys. There was Patty for a while before Violet and you, Pigpen, showed up but back then it was really just us three kids messing around, taking turns in stupid competitions, and dwelling over life's greatest questions."

"…Whoa."

"That's some childhood there, Shermy."

"Yeah…"

" _It was something, huh?"_

"Ahem."

All eyes turned around to focus on the intruding throat clearing. When Shermy saw the perpetrator a look of pure dread fell upon his face.

"Hello, hello, Violet." Pig-pen said. "It's a pleasure seeing you here."

"Please, the pleasure is all yours." Violet gave a look around the group. Seemingly unimpressed, she turned her attention over to the one person she had been avoiding, Shermy.

"I'm not interested in talking with any of you right now except this one right here."

Blank faces went around the gaggle of guys. Everyone knew Violet did not talk one-on-one with a boy anymore unless she had made him her personal toy to mess with. Still, of all the boys Violet played around with, she rarely if ever came close to Shermy which in itself was odd considering how much he and Patty still hung out.

"Shermy? What the heck does he got to do with you?"

"Didn't I just say I you and your questions are not of interest to me?"

Not bothering to hear another response, the dark haired diva grabbed Shermy by the wrist.

"You. Me. Now."

With that, she grabbed him and pulled the helpless boy away through the crowd, leaving the other boys in confusion over what just occurred.

Through the masses and up the stairs Violet went. To any outsider looking in on the two one may think of the them as a couple about to have fun. Yet deep down, Shermy knew that there was no entertainment to be found in this scenario.

"Alright, I think I've let you pull me along long enough."

Shermy broke Violet's grasp and massaged his now free wrist. The two were in a bathroom belonging to the upstairs guest room. White tiles were patterned on the floor with beige tiled walls surrounding it. Bright yellow lighting fixtures illuminated the room from above the bathroom mirror. Shermy was distracted by contemporary décor of the room for almost two seconds before remembering about the problem on hand.

"Who in their right mind thinks you can just drag a person any place you want to?"

"Drag you along? I had no intention of doing that. I was simply trying to keep you on your toes, what with all of those big football games ahead of you."

"You can stop with the lies, Violet."

"Who's to say I am lying though? After all, who wouldn't want to see their childhood friend make it "big".

"If you really were so considerate of me you would've noticed I'm a bit worn out from football at the moment and would like anything but extra pressure at the moment."

"Ah, I'm so sorry, how rude of me. Should I get you something to help? Water? Ibuprofen? Steroids?"

"Violet-"

"Nah, you're probably already take all of those, don't you? I mean, there's no other way you could have made it so far on your team, is there?"

"Enough with the joking. Tell me what you want."

"Oh, I don't know. How about having a nice chat with the girl you swore a blood oath to?"

"Blood oath? Like I'd ever bleed for you!"

Shrugging her shoulders, the lavender clad girl moved over to the sink. Turning on the faucet, the cold water cascaded on the bony ridges of her hands.

"Well, maybe not literally but I do distinctly remember seeing you on your knees, begging for me to not destroy your life."

Shermy's cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. A mortifying panic set over his being. Flashbacks to a period of his life he'd sooner forget then relive again raced in his head.

"No, no, I'm not getting guilt tripped into another one your childish ploys again."

"Are you sure?" Violet stretched her lips out into a knowing grin. "Because if I remember correctly, I sent you several texts over the last few hours specifically reminding you of your duty."

"That may be true but-"

"But what? Don't tell me your phone was dead, Shermy, or that you were too caught up in the tales of those idiot friends of yours. Your sorry excuses count for nothing."

The short haired male gritted his teeth. "So what? Are you just going to stand there and criticize me? Is that what this is, the 'Pick Apart Shermy Show'?"

"Please. Like I'd waste time on that. No, you're here because I want to make sure you keep up your end of the bargain."

"You really think I'd do that?"

"Oh I wouldn't know. Maybe Patty would have an answer to that. I think I'll ask her-"

Shermy closed the distance between himself and Violet. "If you so much as mention even the tiniest little detail about what happened, I swear to all that's holy…"

"You'll what? Hurt me? Even if I were to believe a whipped guy like you could do that it wouldn't even sway me one bit. You see unlike you Shermy, I'm not afraid of pain. I'm not afraid of getting hurt or hurting others for that matter. When it comes down to the wire, I'm more than willing of sticking my hands in the wet dirt and getting filthy to obtain my desires."

"You're right Violet. That is the difference between you and me. While one us learned to grow up and build something from the dirt they were given, the other is still making mud pies."

"You can critique all you want but that won't change a thing."

"I expect things from you, Shermy. Big things."

* * *

"It's official. This night's a big bust."

Lucy and Patty stood together on a wall. Neighboring them on their left and right was 3 and 4, 5's twin sisters. 3 and 4 were not officially in the clique but Lucy had managed to persuade them into acting as errand girls for them. Earlier, Lucy had told them to be her and Patty's personal drink refreshers for the evening and they had since been refilling each of their cups one by one.

"Here you are." The twins spoke in unison. Extending their hands, 3 and 4 offered the new refreshments to Patty and Lucy.

"Why thank you, ladies. It's always satisfying to be in such polite company. I really need to think of a way to pay you both back."

"It's no problem, Lucy." 4 bashfully said.

"Being of help to you is enough thanks for us." 3 chimed in.

Patty snorted. "So much for having shame in sucking up."

Lucy glared over at her blonde companion who absentmindedly drank from her cup. Feeling no desire to start a verbal fight, Lucy decided to let go of the comment and instead directed her attention back to the twins.

"You're free to go. Enjoy the party."

3 and 4's jaws opened in disbelief at Lucy's relaxed nature. However, those open mouths soon turned into bright smiles as the twins ran off in cheer at their clearance from servitude.

"Well, that was awfully kind of you."

Patty had finally finished her beverage. Her fair-haired profile was now fixated on her blue-clad friend. Lucy let out a short chortle out of awkwardness.

"Yeah, well even dumb minions need to be entertained now and then."

"Hehe, that's Lucy alright, ever the slave driver."

Whether it was from the drink or the enclosed spaces Lucy didn't know. Still, she could tell quite easily that Patty was not entirely her composed self this evening. Sloppy, was the word to best describe her in the moment. Not necessarily her dress or appearance to say, but rather her manner of speech in the presence of others.

" _She's defenseless. A childish mistake to make in front of me._ "

"Aren't you a bit uppity to call me out for slave driving?"

"Excuse me?"

"From my flawless observation I would assume you happened to drag poor old Shermy out to this godforsaken party. Considering the state that he's been in for the last few weeks from football, the last thing I'd do is ask him a huge favor in setting up a party like you did."

"Seriously? You're going to compare me asking a friend to be a delivery guy to hazing two girls to lick your boots whenever you want? Not to mention Sally."

A light twitch occurred on Lucy's left eye.

"What are you implying?"

"Oh, don't try and play innocent with me, Luce'. I know all about your little 'project' with little miss sunshine. Trying to mold the perfect mini-me, aren't ya?"

Patty inched closer to Lucy, her head leaning lightly to the left.

"You can harp on me all you want about manipulation; we all know who wrote the book on it. Your problem Lucy is that you can't see the difference between being high handed and having and being a helping hand. Real friends help when asked without any hidden agendas in place. Shermy's a true pal. Fake friends push people into corners where they're forced to go along with whatever conceivable idea been put forth."

Patty jammed her pointer finger right at Lucy's forehead.

"You're one of the fake ones."

" _What did she just say?"_

An aghast Lucy stood silent after that comment. Patty had never been one to criticize Lucy, not since she was a toddler. Whatever had been eating away at the older girl had ticked her off. There's no other way she'd be this daring in calling out Lucy van Pelt of all people.

Volcanic rage bubbled up under Lucy's skin. A temper no one on the planet was willing to face now ventured to surface. It took Patty a quarter of a minute to realize the magnitude of her words and how grave of a mistake she had made. Fortunately, before Lucy could capitalize on punishing Patty for her slip up, a certain cheery girl happened to walk up.

"Hey girls! How's it going?"

"Sally! It's nice to see you."

Patty went in for a hug with Sally. Although a bit surprised by the sudden embrace, the younger girl returned it warmly. Sally was ignorant of the fact that the only reason Patty was holding onto Sally now was to deter the wrath of Lucy.

"Hello Sally. Fancy seeing you here. I had money on you chickening out."

"Me, chicken out? Do you know, Sally Brown? The last thing I am is a chicken, contrary to my brother's relation."

"Well, I'm glad you could make it." Patty said. "It'd be a shame if you missed out on all of this because you were grounded."

"Hey, the last thing I want to hear at this party is anything to do with my family. You understand, right Lucy?"

"The feelings more than mutual."

"I want to know what's going on with you two. What sort of stuff are you up to tonight?"

"Well, Patty here was just talking to me about her opinion on relationships between people. Why don't you tell Sally what you told me?"

" _Uh oh._ "

Fear dropped on Patty's shoulders. It was obvious what Lucy wanted. The black haired brat was goading her into making insults in front of Sally. A pull for power had begun stirring between the girls. Whoever had the balls, figuratively, to say their peace in front of an audience would be the dominant one.

" _You just had to drag the baby in, didn't you? If Violet or Frieda were here I swear I'd rip you a new one, Lucy. Sadly, that's not the case._ "

Patty bared a faux grim before speaking. "I was just saying how hard it is to find valuable friends the older we get. I happen to be two years older than you Sally so you might not understand when I say that age really does make a difference in conversations."

Patty picked a stray strand of her hair and tucked it behind her right ear. "I've already started to notice how some people don't remember the same movies I know or watched the same shows I did. There's a clear difference in generations, you know."

Sally jumped at the opportunity to share a piece of her mind. "I know exactly what you're talking about! I didn't want to bring him, but my big brother just doesn't get me at all! He's so out of touch with everything! Whether it's fashion, television, or the latest trends he's always behind on everything. I swear he was raised in another century or something. Not that, you're weird or anything Patty, I know you and him are the same age. It's just so…strange how at the end of the day the people that understand you best aren't your family, but your peers."

"Yeah. I had it a bit rough in the beginning. I was surrounded by boys for the longest time until Violet came. I had to plant my foot to show them how things went with me around. I wasn't about to let myself be a twig in the nest they grew up in. If anything, I was going to be-"

"Their mother hen." Lucy interrupted. "You've told us that a thousand times."

"Ha, well it's true. Someone had keep those boys in line and let's face it: it wasn't going to be a beagle."

"That's right. You know, I always forget that Snoopy has been around before me. It's weird thinking how your pet is older than you."

"Oh, Snoopy has been around for years. He wasn't always Charlie Brown's dog you know. For a while, he was just the neighborhood's beagle. He had a few owners from time to time but they always moved away."

"I can't blame. After all, what sane people would want to take care of a crazy, bacteria infested, canine like that. No offense, Sally."

"None taken. It's not like I'm the one handling him anyways. My blockheaded sibling has that to manage."

"Heh, if you asked me ten years ago I swear I would told you that dog would be dead by now. It honestly amazes me how Charlie Brown has that dog fed on time."

"It's not that surprising. I mean, Charlie Brown may be a failure on all fronts but if there's one thing he's shown dedication towards it's keeping his mangy mutt by his side."

"Ugh, enough about my dumb brother! Can we please talk about something else?"

Patty getting more and more uneasy the longer she stayed by Lucy. Any second now, she thought Lucy was going to have her by the throat. Like a fly near pitcher plant, Patty felt drawn in by the sweet lure of spitting insults in Lucy's face again, yet was wary of the lethal ensnarement if she was to stay and do so.

"Well it seems Patty's actually run out of drink. Why don't you two stay and chat while I refresh our drinks."

Before Patty could object Lucy grabbed her cup and sauntered off to the punch line. The blonde pair were now left alone to their devices.

" _Uh…_ "

" _Ah…_ "

Sally and Patty were a twosome that was not often isolated. Neither girl ever sought out the other for private talk. As a matter of fact, if one were to define their relationship, it would be better to cite them as associates rather than friends. The connecting tissue between the two happened to be Lucy who really was the glue of their clique. The absence of her provided an unusual environment for which Patty and Sally were now expected to fill up in the while.

" _So that's how you want to play, eh Lucy?"_ Patty thought to herself. " _Too bad, I'm not afraid of a trial like this. Don't think you've won this yet, Lucy. I'll show you who's the boss around here."_


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note**

 **Surprise! I decided to take a month long break so as to not overwork myself writing this story. I'm back now. Hopefully, I'll be more regular with the updates! Without further ado, here's the next chapter!**

* * *

A Peanuts Tale

 **Chapter 10: In the Heat of the Moment**

 **Featuring: Charlie Brown and Lucy Van Pelt**

It was hot in the house.

Stuffy, musty, and drenched with sweat, Frieda's home had become the mosh pit for teenagers. Tons of boys and girls were dancing the night away with careless abandonment. Overcome with a primal urge to sway with the music, person after person kept moving their feet.

Lucy had walked over to the punch line next to the kitchen. Awaiting its delivery, she unknowingly had her back turned to a fear stricken Charlie Brown.

" _Good grief, what did I do to have to get in line behind her?"_

When Charlie Brown and Franklin had gone back to deliver food to their friends, he had accidentally knocked over Peppermint Patty's cup. Wishing to evade the full blunt force of Peppermint Patty's tirade, the round headed boy had opted to get another drink for the girl to make up for his mistake. Much to his chagrin however, he landed himself smack dab in a minefield with a ticked off Lucy right in front of him.

" _What do I do? I can't just stay here, can I? She's eventually going to turn around and when she does, boom! Goodbye, what tranquility is left in this evening. I've got to find something to do._ "

Regrettably for Charlie Brown, he had thought too long on the matter. A gaggle of girls had begun gossiping in a circle, making a lot of noise over some boy that had caught their eyes. The punch table was located at a corner in the house. A wall was to the left of the line. Simply put, Charlie Brown was stuck between a wall and a hard place.

" _Oh dear, oh dear. Please, let Lady Luck be on my side for once. Please don't let her turn around._ "

Strange as it was, Lucy had not bothered to look around, even with the new chorus of girlish screams to her right, much less anyone behind her. She was far too preoccupied with the recent change in behavior with her teenage crew.

Lucy had rarely found herself outside of a position of control. For most of her life Lucy had used her wits and intimidation tactics to keep others from acting contrary to her wishes. It was ordinary for her to be the unquestionable leader.

For Lucy seeing the girls of her own clique vying for crown as queen of the school was truly unnerving for her. A mounting ire boiled inside of the short-tempered girl. She knew it was only a matter of time before her fuse blew. It was just a matter of who her explosion would be targeted at that was to be debated inside her head.

" _Which ungrateful brat is going to get the full force of my storm? Who, who, wh-_ "

"Hello, Lucy!"

Bring her conscious back to reality was none other than…Charlie Brown?

" _What the heck is the blockhead up to?_ "

" _Oh god, why did I decide to talk to her?_ "

"Huh, so you actually didn't chicken out, huh? I've got to hand it to you, Charlie Brown, you've gotten more spine with your extra height."

"Thanks?"

" _Ugh, this is her way of insulting me, isn't it? Why am I even trying to start a conversation with her? I don't need to speak with Lucy. I might as well just go and- NO! I can't back down from this. I can't just keep acting like a good for nothing coward and loser. I got to show people that I'm brave, that I can stand tall to Lucy._ "

"Earth to Charlie Brown? Are you spacing out here or are flat out too stupid to get what I said?"

"Huh?"

"Jeez Louise, do you have a brain in your head, numbskull? Honestly I wonder how you've gotten so far on your own. You can't even follow a conversation happening directly in front of you! Can you follow me, Charlie Brown? Should-I-speak-slower?"

"No, I was just thinking about-"

"You know I've been thinking a lot too, blockhead. To be honest, I've known you longer than any other person in this town. You predate every other loser I've had the misfortune of meeting. In lots of ways, that makes you special to me Charlie Brown."

"Oh."

"So believe me Charlie Brown, coming from the person that thinks yours special, when I say that you need to start over."

"I- wait, what?"

"You heard me. It's time to quit the game and reset. You've messed up one too many times."

"Messed up? How?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you? For all the time I've known you, Charlie Brown, you've not had made a single dream of yours come true. You've never won a baseball championship, you've flown a kite once on accident, and you haven't even kicked a freaking football."

"Hey! That last one is entirely on your hands."

"Worst of all in the history of all your failures, what has stood out the most is how utterly miserable your attempt at winning the heart of that old Little Red-Haired Girl has been. I look at all the trouble you went to work up the nerve to talk to her for the very first time. After all of that, it turns out that her summer camping trip turned into a permanent vacation away from here when her family moved away. I must admit, Charlie Brown that you have the worst timing when it comes to starting relationships."

By this time, it had become clear to Charlie Brown that he was not going to show up Lucy tonight. As a matter of fact, he was quite sure that she was on the verge of publicizing a complete breakdown of his person to the entire party, a sure-fire way for him to have his mood completely crushed. Charlie Brown was now looking for any escape routes to get out of this horrifying scenario he had found himself in. Yet much to his dismay, not knew opening had revealed themselves. It was in this great peril that only one though crossed Charlie Brown's mind.

" _Maybe this is it. What's left for me to keep standing for?"_

It was then that he saw her.

His entire world turned upside down.

It was the hair that caught his eye first. A brilliant crimson shade of red untangled and cascaded down to her shoulder blades. Next was her skin, a light apricot color clear and pristine as polished marble. Her figure was cut to perfection, lithe and toned. She wore an elegant turquoise blouse with a light pink skirt. White sandals adorned her soles and a sky-blue headband with a bow topped her head. She chic and stunning, a beauty to die for.

Unfortunately, Charlie Brown had already done so for her before.

" _That's the Little Red-Haired Girl."_

Astonishment. Fear. Amazement. Panic.

Several intense emotions popped up inside Charlie's head. He's overwhelmed by this blast from the past. It was everything he both wanted and repudiated. The symbol of his past hopes and regrets all dolled up in a perfect package. She was the one thing that held meaning for Charlie Brown in this moment, just as she was all those years ago. Yet like the time before, what exactly the meaning meant was lost to Charlie Brown in his mesmerized stare.

"What a surprise. I've lost you again. You know of all the hopeless cases on earth, you Charlie Brown are the greatest lost cause of all. Why I never thought that-"

Lucy's griping did not register in Charlie Brown's head. The only sense working inside his body was sight and he was seeing red. Whether he had on rose tinted glasses or not he didn't know. All he knew was that he had to reach her this time. He couldn't just let her go again.

With that, Charlie Brown stormed out of the line, pushing his way past boy and girl alike. In his wake, he left a dumbfounded Lucy, oblivious to Charlie Brown's objective. Livid beyond what she was earlier, she outrageously voiced her thoughts for all around her to here."

"Did that bird-brained blockhead seriously walk away from me, ME, of all people? Doesn't he know who he's talking to, doesn't he know who I am in this town? Why I swear, the next time I see Charlie Brown, oh boy is he in for it. I'll chew him out and spit him back out on the street for everyone to see. By the time the last school bus drives by, all that's going to be left is the pathetic, sniveling figure that was the former-"

"Well, well, look at who Shermy found out in the wild."

Faces around the room turned and gave gasps and awes of surprise. Lucy halted her angry bombast and gave a snort. The black-haired beauty could not fathom who would come and interrupt her tantrum. It was infuriating to her and impossible to comprehend. She could only assume that newcomer was of some sentimental value to the crowd around her. That didn't matter to her though. All Lucy knew was that she was about to give someone a piece of her mind and that meant hell for whoever was on the receiving end.

"Out of my way! Move it or lose it pal."

Each push of a person got Lucy closer and closer to the origin of her trouble. She moved with a determination in each step, never faulting in her confidence or swagger. The dazzling youth commanded an attention to herself that no other person in the house could. She was adamant in her position of power and was not about to let any person upstage her. Not Violet, not Patty, not even Frieda in her own house would outdo her. No, if anything, no woman in this house could ever be on her level, in her own eyes.

It is for this very reason that she was shocked to find her equal in that of a young man before her.

To say he was handsome wouldn't even begin to cover it. The young man stood around six feet tall and was sculpted as the Ancient Greek statues were. His skin was a pearly white and he his lips were spread into a playful smile. His eyes captured the luminescence in just the right way to appear as beautiful dark gems. Light blonde was neatly kept on the crown of his head with bangs masking his forehead. Like the seraphim of myth, the boy exhibited a sort of radiance that seemed to warm ones very heart.

What was truly spellbinding about him was the form of his hands. Each digit of each finger was faintly twitching along to an invisible beat. Both hands of the young man were carved as if from butter, devoid of scarring or wrinkles and as smooth as silk. His palms seemed soft enough to caress a cloud without deforming it yet his fingers held a refinement that could let them weave tapestry from trash. Indeed, there was a such a mystery and loveliness to these hands that would engross any passerby's eyes.

For Lucy Van Pelt this young man could be many things. Perhaps he was heaven-sent on earth, a winged herald with all the glory and grace to whisk all one's worrisome quandaries away with an embracing love. There was even the possibility that he was the Messiah himself, here to save Lucy from all her sins and forgive her for every misdeed she had committed. These were both just theories though, and despite both of their attractiveness, Lucy doubted either was the case. Instead, she had a much darker idea of who the man could.

He was her Lucifer, a man of great allure who would ultimately be her downfall. This otherworldly beauty was to make Lucy stray from her normal path and fall into a string of bad choices that would lead to her demise. He was Satan dressed as cherubim, the devil in a priest's skin. Yet Lucy was only half-blinded by the charm of the young man. In her stupor, she had recalled the name of this old destructive force.

Her angel of death was called Schroeder.


	11. Chapter 11

A Peanuts Tale

 **Chapter 11: On Pins and Needles**

 **Featuring: Lucy, Schroeder, Violet, Sally, Shermy**

" _No, no, no. It can't be him_ "

She could never be this lucky.

She had never been this unlucky.

There stood Schroeder, in all his glory just a few feet away from Lucy. Her knees felt weak and her stomach was fluttering. She barely registered the sounds of the crowd surrounding her. Had it not been for her staring at Schroeder's face in front of her she wouldn't not have picked up the words he had just said.

"Oh, if it isn't you."

He knew who she was.

She knew who he was.

The problem was exactly that.

" _Say something for crying out loud! Remember who you are!"_

"My, my, are you really Schroeder? Look at you, all dapper and dreamy. To think after all this time with no calls or contact you'd show up at the very party I'm co-hosting. Fancy that."

"Yes, fancy that I suppose."

"Ah but where are my manners, I am quite rude. I doubt you've even met the host herself yet? Come, let's head over to Frieda. There's lots you probably want to catch up on."

"With all due respect, Lucy, I honestly only came to talk with the guys today. I might say some thanks to Frieda when I leave but I'm only really staying a short while."

"What?"

"Well you see-"

"I brought him here," Shermy cut in.

"This guy has been doing his own thing for god knows how long. It was high time he reconnected with us, you know, male pals and all. I'm sure you understand Lucy. I mean, wouldn't one of your friends do the same for you if you were in a similar position?"

"Ha, I really doubt any such person would go to the effort of dragging me anywhere I was actively avoiding."

Lucy glared daggers at Schroeder who seemed rather contained despite the obvious hostile presence before him.

"It may come of some surprise to you" said blonde newcomer, "but when I go forward in life I take the chance to look back every now and then. It's good to know where you're coming from to really appreciate where you're going."

"Of course, you don't want to look back to long unless you plan on tripping over a crack in the road."

"Well I tend to be very aware of the space I'm moving through. You'd have to have tunnel vision to only focus on one possible direction in life."

Though to outsiders this simply seemed like a strange reunion of old friends, Shermy knew that he had been caught in the middle of some dormant drama. The amount of venom hidden underneath both Schroeder and Lucy's words was enough to make any weak-willed person feel sick.

" _For the love of god, what did you make me do Violet?"_

"Oh I can't believe it! Schroeder in the flesh! Why it's been so long since we've seen each other. Remember me?"

"Oh, I couldn't forget you Violet. How have you been? Still the same after all these years?"

"Oh Schroeder, you wound me. I've never been better. Why I've grown into quite the woman as you have grown into being quite the man. I must say, you've somehow become more handsome than I remember you to be."

"Thank you, Violet. I must admit you're looking quite lovely yourself."

"Aw, how sweet. Although I don't know if it's fair to call myself pretty in the face of someone like Lucy here."

"Oh I think it's more than fair. In fact, not saying it would be an injustice to truth."

Lucy gritted her teeth in spite. It was plainly obvious to her now. Violet was using Schroeder to goad her into her anger. The girl had been the puppeteer behind all of Lucy's misgivings this evening. It was easy to assume that she been orchestrating this scheme for a while and that Lucy's earlier comments from the day had only further convinced Violet of enacting her plan tonight.

" _When I get my hands on her, oh I swear-_ "

"By the way, it looks to me like you are a getting a bit overheated with all these people around. Would you care to have a drink with me out back?"

"It would be my pleasure."

" _That's it._ "

"Okay you two, I get it. I understand now. Are you happy? Are you satisfied?"

The sudden raise of Lucy's voice caused a disturbance in the house. All eyes and ears fell on the group of old acquaintances. Curiously enough, Sally had been passing through the crowd looking for the apple of her eye when her ears perked up at that oh so familiar yell. While the old Sally would've stayed out of Lucy's way to avoid the price of her fury, the new Sally was willing to take a gamble. Perhaps by calming Lucy down and showing her initiative to help Patty thought Lucy would have greater trust in her, deepening their trust.

"Um Lucy," Sally called out "I'm not too sure on what's going. I do however, have the slightest idea that it wouldn't be a good decision to make a scene in front of all these people, especially in this party of all places. Perhaps you should pipe down."

"Pipe down? PIPE DOWN? I ought to take your pipe and shove it back into the hole you get all your crap from!"

If weren't for Sally forcibly holding her tongue with her teeth, she would've yelped in disbelief at the vulgarity of Lucy's words to her. It wasn't even so much of a crude sentence as it was one of the rudest things the Van Pelt girl had said to Sally Brown since their closer relationship had started.

" _Maybe I imagined that our "friendship" meant anything past face value."_

Lucy's eyes darted back to Violet, the original object of her offensiveness.

"Now listen here, little miss crafty crab. You seem to be under the impression that I'm an extremely passive and submissive girl. That I, when under the barrage of invectives, obloquies, and vituperations would simply sink down, get on my knees, and capitulate to your antagonizing behavior? Well guess what? YOU ARE WRONG. As wrong as any guess you make on what half of the words I just said mean. When you living with a talking dictionary for more than ten years you tend to have pick up a vocabulary that lends itself to a more distinguished class. The kind, I'm afraid, you would never find yourself in, my dear. So, before I quell your laurels any further any stifle any assertions you may have been willing to put forth I do believe I should switch back to using your language, which I assume will make it easier for you to follow along. Allow me to make it simple. You are last year's trash that I let build up because I was too lazy to make the effort of throwing you out. Maybe, just maybe I thought a raccoon or some other scavenging creature would come and find use for your garbage outfits and junk personality. Today however, I had an epiphany- oh, I'm sorry: a bingo moment, if you can catch my drift. I realized that no matter how long or how close you keep waste and rubbish nearby, it always smells the same and does nothing but dirty the air. So, tonight's the night. I'm finally taking out the trash to where it belongs. Enjoy whatever drinks and flirtations you indulge yourself in. Come tomorrow morning, you'll be where every hopeless, passed out, used up girl ends up: in a dumpster."

There is a scientific fact about lightning that might not be known to many people. You see, in the brief time the electricity appears and then disappears, the air where the lightning had moved apart. In short there is a space, a gap if you will, where in the smallest of increments of time no sound occurs and a vacuum is created. Of course, just as quickly as that vacuum comes to life in the world, the laws of nature destroy it with the crashing collision of air resulting in the deafening sound of thunder.

The instant Lucy's final words were spoken, the same effect took place over the entirety of the house. Not a single living being dared to make a sound. In fact, it was entirely possible that they couldn't. The air throughout all the rooms had been completely sucked out by the gasps of every person who could hear those appalling words. Yet just like the lightning, it took but a fraction of a second for all the sound to come back in thunderous mayhem.

"Oh my god!"

"Did you see that?"

"No way."

"Is she out of her mind?"

"What a freak."

"That was cold."

"She's heartless."

"Does she have no shame?"

"Look what she did?"

"I'd do the same thing."

"Look at the other girl"

"Do you see the look on her face?"

"Can't say I wouldn't react the same way."

"This is so wrong."

" _This is wrong._

 _This is wrong._

 _This is wrong._ "

Over and over those words kept repeating in Lucy's head but it was far too late to take it all back now.

"You…you miserable… monster!" Violet lashed out, tears running down her cheeks and vitriol in her voice.

"I hate you! You hear me Lucy Van Pelt? I hate everything about you! There's not a single little trace of a redeeming factor that I can find in your entire existence. As of this moment we are no longer friends, we are no longer associates, and you are back to being what you started off as, a whiny brat that no one close by. You can kiss whatever perks and powers you had with me at your side goodbye. Let the whole world know that on this day, Lucy, good for nothing and smelt, became an enemy of Violet Gray."

With that theatrical display of emotion, Violet took her grand exit, sobbing loudly stage right out the door. Shermy was at a total loss for words. Schroeder, however, had a few choice phrases to say to his old unwilling admirer, and he was very much obliged to say them.

"Jesus Christ, Lucy, that was absolutely, completely uncalled for." If the young woman's face could lose any more color from the severity of Schroeder's tone she would be but a black and white portrait.

"I know more than anyone the excessive force your harassment tends to lean to. I, myself, have been the brunt of that kind of pestering for years. Yet never, in my life have I seen such a devastating attack on a person by you in public for all to see and join in the humiliation. This was to a friend of yours, no less!"

"Listen to me Schroeder, I'm not-"

"You know sometimes when I was younger, I wondered how you can sleep at night and wake up knowing that what seems to be your sole purpose in life is hurting others. Now, I only wonder how you've made it this far without someone striking back at you."

Schroeder dashed out the door and into the enveloping nocturne, chasing after the lost Violet.

Lucy turned to her last resort, the sole person she knew she could count on in this great moment of weakness for her.

"Sally! Thank god, you're still here. Look, you know me, right? You get everything I've said! You get the real me, don't you? The charming and lovely girl who's an inspiration to all!"

" _I don't._ "

"Look at me, and tell me you get it. Tell me you get me-"

"I don't!"

Lucy's yammering and blabbing ceases. To her great astonishment, Sally Brown of all people was against her.

"I thought I knew you, I thought I had grown to know you. I mean we talked and laughed and did fun things together. I'm not exactly the most forward person when it comes to having friends and you're not exactly the most accepting human being on Earth. Still I thought, really thought that we had built something after all this time. Something solid, something in X-large that fit both of us together with room to spare. Yet after what I just heard and even better what you didn't hear from me I've come to grasp that whatever thing I thought we had made was fake. It was easy to rip apart and frankly you didn't seem to give a damn."

Tears began welling up in Sally's eyes. Without so much as word from Lucy, a cry of defiance or the like, Sally took off through the crowd and out the backdoor of the house. In her frenzied state, she barely saw the pair of a frisky Frieda and a dumbfounded Linus keeping close in the corner of two kitchen counters. The golden blonde girl laughed to herself in pity.

"What a note to leave a party on. O what a wonderful world this is!"

Lucy remained in the center of an uneasy crowd. Her only companion was Shermy, whose helpless presence seemed both awkward and fitting for the events that just occurred. Lucy's face was blank and her body still. In her head, her entire mental focus was on a single train of thought.

" _Yes, if I could have a single wish at that moment I would ask for but a single redo of today and nothing more. Perhaps then I could've salvaged something from whatever wreck of a relationship Violet, Sally, and the rest of my friends had been a part of. Perchance, I could've started to act less like a selfish prick, and more like a decent human being. That might've been what everyone had wanted, what Schroeder had wanted. Maybe it had been time for me to be the bigger person, rather than talk big. I don't know. It doesn't matter. For once in my life, I truly and utterly screwed up on the level of Charlie Brown."_


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note**

 **Once again, I apologize for the delay. I'm thankful that I've reached a milestone though. 30,000 words! Happy New Year everyone and I hope you enjoy this extra long chapter!**

A Peanuts Tale

 **Chapter 12: If It's Not One Thing It's Another**

 **Featuring: The Peanuts Gang!**

"Well I don't think this place can get any more exciting."

"What a gross understatement, sir."

Peppermint Patty and Marci had been listening in to the entire confrontation that had just occurred. Of course, it was the topic on everyone's mind but for those who had known the involved for years, the entire incident felt surreal. Never had the guests seen such a falling out of this magnitude occur.

"What a disaster that turned out to be and for what? They were making a big deal out of nothing, as always. Leave it to those drama queens to blow up something that didn't need attention."

"If I may, sir, I'd like to point out that as observers to this fiasco, we really don't have all the inside details as to why this happened. Various actions and conversations in the past could have contributed to the aforementioned confrontation. With such key pieces of the puzzle being missing, we can only make an estimation of what we really saw, rather than a confirmation of what it was. Ergo, it would require a more in-depth study to lead to the causation of this debacle."

"You know Marcie, I don't want to ruin your thoughtful moment, but you lost me at puzzles, which funnily I also don't have the patience for."

"What a remarkable coincidence."

"That's beside the point though. We don't need to know why this happened Marcie. All that matters is that it did and it's going to shake the school come Monday morning. Heh, I can only imagine what the halls are going to be like then: dozens of preppy wannabes all clinging to whatever side they can in the great clique war that has begun to brew."

Though Peppermint Patty had trailed off into her mischievous imagination, Marcie was still keenly aware of the unspoken elephant in the room. It seemed both of them were holding something back. There was no other reason for Patty to talk about other people, especially Lucy, unless she was deflecting any focus away from her.

"Sir, I wanted to ask you something?"

"What's that, Marcie?" Patty absentmindedly answered. "Oh, stop calling me sir too."

"Yes, sir, I mean. Look I've been avoiding talking to you about this summer as much you have been avoiding talking about it too. Clearly, we both had some internal developments that we think may better be left unspoken. With me being away from you and you being away from me, I don't think either of us really had someone to talk to about them. Still, I think now that we're here and back it would be a good time to start talking."

"About what?"

"About- well, what we need to!"

A simple sigh parted its way through the sandy haired tomboy's lips. A look of silent determination found its way on her face. For a split second, Marcie thought she had finally managed to get her best friend to open up to her. That is, until she spoke.

"Sometimes, Marcie, things are better left unsaid and undone."

The pure belief behind those words shut Marcie up. Those few words were left hanging in the air. The glasses wearing gal could not comprehend how her friend could speak such words with such conviction. Yet no matter how much she wanted to argue back with all her emotions, no intelligible phrase reached her reached her passed through her teeth. The young intellect made no comment.

" _I'm sorry, Marcie. I wish, oh I wish could tell you everything. It would all be so much simpler then. If I could just shout from the rooftops what I've been keeping to myself I would feel so much better. The truth is that if I did that though, it would only cause problems for the people around me. So, what's the harm in keeping quiet? I might not be at a hundred percent but no one else gets dragged into my issues."_

The space between the two became unpleasant, to say the least. Yet just before things got ugly, their old pal Franklin came around.

"Whoa. You guys saw that right? I did not expect Lucy and her crowd to go off like that tonight. I everyone's a little antsy tonight."

"Yeah, go figure." Peppermint Patty drawled.

"It does seem like people are a bit more defensive than usual, Franklin. Wouldn't you agree, sir?"

"Wow Marcie, you just read my mind."

"Well that would be a first tonight."

"Oh really? You seem to have been doing just fine peeping into my personal problems earlier."

"Ah, so someone actually admits there's a problem."

"There isn't one!"

"Which is it? Is it blinking in and out of existence one instant after the other?"

"What do you care anyways?"

"Who says I do?"

"You, if you'd listen to big, fat mouth."

"What did you say?"

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Franklin loudly voiced. The young fellow came between his two pals like a screen door, present and yet barely noticeable to the two.

"Well if we're talking about fat mouths, I should bring Charles over here to tell me how much he's been enjoying your company this evening."

"Come again?"

"Now ladies.."

"I'm just sure, Charles is ecstatic to whisper all about your overbearing attitude lately. Heck, maybe he'll tell me just why you've been acting weird lately."

"One: do not call me weird, Marcie. Boy or girl, I won't take that from anyone and would slap you upside your head if you did it again. Two: don't ever drag Chuck into my issues. I'll do it myself, I want, thank you very much."

"That's so like you. Always ready to go off on your own and do what's necessary for you and you alone."

"Are you calling me selfish."

"I'm not calling you self-less"

"Well you don't have to be a smart-ass about it."

"I'm not being anything you haven't been."

"Yeah? Well that's YOUR problem."

"Guys! That's enough!"

Franklin was doing his best to mediate the conflict but it wasn't enough. He was practically powerless between the two fired up friends and his efforts to break up their argument were rendered null and void.

The ticked off tomboy was the first to respond. "Screw this. If you're just going to keep being a pain in the butt I may as well go to a place that's more relaxing."

"Hmph. Sir, if you think you can find someone out there that's willing to shoulder your complaints, well I'll be shocked."

"Shows what you know Marcie. Most people who see crap outside just ignore it. It's a shame you can't help but to try and clean it up."

" _It only makes you dirty in the end."_

With that, Peppermint Patty spun around and stomped away into the house, not once looking back at those she left behind. Franklin and Marcie both stood in her wake, emotions running high in both.

"I have say that was pretty bad." Franklin blankly stated.

"Gee, I hadn't noticed." Marcie rebuffed.

"I mean, not to pile on you or anything, what made you even go after her like that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb, Marcie. You're better than that!" Franklin closed the distance between him and four-eyed girl. Though she adamantly stayed put, Marcie's eyes gave every indication that she did not want to be here.

"I'm talking about the way you hounded after whatever Peppermint Patty has been dealing with. She's been very outspoken on how she's not willing talk about it, whatever "it" is. I figured you, of all the friends she has, would know more than anything not to ask that stubborn of a girl to do anything she doesn't want to do. She's got enough on her plate as is, anyways."

"So I'm supposed to accept that and let it be? Zip my lip and allow sir to keep everything bottled up?"

"Marcie, you're not seeing this the right way-"

"No, it's my turn to talk now. Everyone thinks it's so easy to just stand by and let a friend hurt oneself like it's nothing. I've seen it with sir, and I've seen with Charles too many times. What nobody seems to realize though is that while they're all in pain someone else is watching them endure. I feel utterly helpless when this happens. It hurts me to see them go through that torturous experience. No person should have to go through that alone, yet that is what happens each and every time."

Franklin stepped back, aghast.

"I-I had no idea you were going through all that. How can you deal with something that miserable?"

"It's easy really. I keep it all locked up inside, too."

"Geez, what the heck was that all about?"

Frieda had asked the exact question Linus and the others in the kitchen around him had been thinking of. The sudden outburst from the main had disrupted the flow of the party. Now theories of what took place ebbed into all corners of the house.

"If I had to bet," said Linus, "I would put my money on Lucy getting roused up for no reason."

"Whaaat? You really think LUCY's the kind to get angry over nothing?" Frieda jokingly inquired.

"Although it is questionable, I daresay I do."

Although partially reluctant at first, Linus was beginning to warm up with the naturally curly haired dame. She was by all accounts, more open than her social status initially let on. The two struck up a conversation over a myriad of topics from local neighborhood gossip to debates over the societal roles of humans and animals alike. It was in their banter that a great realization slowly dawned on the young man. Since he entered into the fray, he had not once considered touching his prized blanket nor felt any compulsion for it.

Linus was astounded. It wasn't impossible for him to go without holding the blanket for lengthy periods of time. Truth be told, he had done so on numerous occasions. Rather, it was the fact that in what he would consider one of most nerve wracking settings for a pious young person to be in, he somehow managed without immediately holding on to a shred of security, praying for dear life. In some weird and magical way, Linus felt safe on his own.

" _Or I am safe because I'm not alone, now?"_

Looking up at the face before him, Linus couldn't picture what about this girl could possibly be helping him. Was it her looks? No, as pretty as she wasn't the first person Linus found visually attractive and none of those prior had this soothing effect. Perhaps it was the discussion they were having, distracting his conscious mind from his subconscious cravings?

" _No,"_ Linus reasoned. " _Engaging subject matter can only distance my mind so much before I reflexively itch for my blanket again."_

So, what was is it? What could be the trigger to keeping Linus' insecurities at bay?

"Maybe it's not rational at all."

"Huh?" Linus was jerked away from his thoughts by Frieda.

"I said, Bible for brains, that you might be right about Lucy."

"How so?"

"Well just think about it. Through all these years we've seen Lucy yell, growl, and spit at one person and another time after time. It never mattered if it was a holiday or the stormiest day of the season. She's always goes back to her grouchy self when around people."

"So…"

"So maybe she's just meant to be that way, at least now. Maybe she just doesn't fit in this environment, this whole elitist mindset that girls like Violet and Patty and, well, even me have. Maybe that's not what she's meant for."

Linus had become increasingly curious of this idea of Frieda's. In many ways, he pondered if this out of nature experience Lucy could possibly be going through could explain his own issues.

"If she's not meant for that though, then what does she do… to be-"

"To be?"

"To be…right?"

The talkative hostess had begun catch on that there was more to this little talk of hers and Linus' than meets the eyes. Of course, she wasn't willing to be the one to address the fact. In her mind, it wasn't her place. Still, she knew in spite of everything, Linus was seeking answers, and it'd be kind to give him something worthwhile now.

"The way I see it, the only way someone like that can be their true self is if they leave the place that tries to change them… or find themselves someone they know that gets them for who they are."

" _Someone who gets who I am._ " Linus replayed this notion in his head.

"Ohoho, if isn't the TWO people I couldn't wait to see."

" _There's no way it could be-"_

It was her, Sally Brown, in the flesh who loudly announced herself to the room.

"Uh, Sally, I didn't expect to see you here in the kitchen. I figured you'd be out there dancing the night away."

"Oh I was doing that, I was, but you know, I just couldn't wait to get this thing off of my chest, this thing I've wanted to say for a long time. Let me tell you, it's been a loooong time coming, that's for sure."

"Sally, not that it's my place to say," Linus anxiously spoke, "but how much have you drunk tonight?"

"Aw, you do care, don't you Linus? Or maybe it's only when I've gone through dozens of shots that you turn all white knight for me. I don't know. Who knows? Thanks though, Linus. You're really sweet. Isn't he just the cutest?"

"Listen Sally, I think you should come with me." Frieda said with care. "I can get 3 and 4 to drive you back home in time before your parents-"

"With parents, care glints, am I right?"

"Wait, what?"

"I'm SAYING that maybe I shouldn't go home, ever again. Yup, I'll just stay away and never, ever, return."

"Sally, you're not thinking straight. You need to drink some water. You're probably dehydrated-"

"I'm doing just fine on my own, thanks for asking. I mean my mom and dad don't seem to do much for me. They send me off to school in the mornings and lock me in my house at nights. It's like prison except I'm give a better wardrobe."

"Alright Sally, you really need to stop-"

"Don't!" The small blonde shouted. "I need to say this. I need to get this all out. The whole enchilada. The whole smorgasbord."

The rambling girl stumbled towards Frieda. Despite her obvious lack of control, it was clear that she was on a mission. With fervor in her being, she jabbed a finger into Frieda's chest.

"You are the most fake person I've ever seen. I've had dolls more realistic than you! Hehe…I figured that eventually you'd show your true colors. That behind all the flair and pompous attitude you'd reveal you were nothing more than a self-conscious skank looking for another socially awkward weirdo to stick to. Lo and behold it couldn't just be any awkward person either, No, you had to make it my sweetheart, my Linus!"

To say Sally's came as a shock would be the understatement of the year. Never did Linus and Frieda imagine Charlie Brown's little sister to be so vulgar and rude.

" _She's been spending way too much time with Lucy."_ Linus thought.

" _She's been spending too much time around people like me."_ Frieda supposed.

"Look at the two of you. Neither are willing to say a thing. Don't worry though. Your silence speaks all the words I need to hear. You hear that Frieda? You hear that Linus!? I understand you two perfectly!"

It was at the apex of these accusations now, when Charlie Brown walked into the room. Oblivious as to the sentences that were spoken before, entered the conversation completely unprepared.

"Sally? What are you doing here? Didn't mom and dad ground you this weekend?"

Sally shot daggers of ice from her eyes towards her sibling. The zigzag clad boy however was sidetracked from the glare by two new faces he hadn't seen all night.

"Linus, you're here and with Frieda of all people! Fancy meeting you two at a time like this."

"H-hey, Charlie Brown." Linus eventually got the words out. "Yeah, this is a crazy time for you to pop in."

"Oh, I didn't just pop in now if you were wondering. I was looking for some more crackers since the snack table was cleared of them. I've actually been hanging out with Franklin, Marcie, and Peppermint Patty here for the past couple of hours before I left. You know, I just overheard Lucy going off on some poor person a couple of minutes ago. Boy, did she tear into them."

Sally was beginning to get ticked off again. Linus did not want to deal with an outraged Sally Brown and an emotionally wrecked Charlie Brown when she was done with him. How could he be tasked to help them when he had his own problems to deal with? It was because of this that the tousle haired teen decided to get at least one of the siblings off of his back at the moment.

"That's great, Charlie Brown. You know, now that I remember, I think Rerun might've ate the last of the crackers a few minutes ago."

"He did?"

"Yeah, I saw grab the last box and stuff his face with them. If you wanted you could go to him and ask if there were any left."

"Rerun, huh?"

"Yup." Frieda added. "I think he was near the front door."

The girl with the red curled hair and the Van Pelt son had reached a silent agreement. In order to deal with the whole Sally problem, it was necessary to remove Charlie Brown from the picture asap.

Alas, Charlie Brown had not wised up to their scheme and did not take the bait.

"Between you and me Linus who knows how much trouble our siblings have caused us. First, it's food, then it's space. I mean, they take and they take for what? Sometimes I wish I was in your shoes, Sally. Just one day I'd like to show you how crazy you make my life sometimes. One day of whining, aggravating, and tattling is all I ask for. Who knows? You could actually learn to empathize with me. Of course, you could always not care. Who am I to know?"

"…You say you want to be in my shoes?"

"Hmm? What was that?"

"You said you want a day in my life, right? One day of being nothing but good ol' Sally Brown? Is that right?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"No buts come with this deal I'm afraid. You want to be in my shoes, you got to deal with my all problems, like how I'm stuck with greatest living failure as my big brother. Think it's so easy being me? Try going to school when every teacher has had to deal with the infamous Charlie Brown and decides to take extra caution when dealing his baby sister."

"I, uh, I didn't know-"

"Think that's bad? I'm just getting started. Imagine seeing your only sibling constantly picked on and laughed at for who they are and realize that the only way to succeed is to be the exact opposite of said brother. Can you even think of living everyday knowing that you're just a step away from being a Charlie Brown? You can't can you?"

"Um…"  
"You know why?"

"I-"

"IT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE CHARLIE BROWN!"

Another tipping point in a conversation and another quiet came over the house. Linus had facepalmed himself in frustration and Frieda avoided staring at the two Browns. Sally was sweating from head to toe, a hellish fire in her eyes. She swayed lightly yet kept her hate filled gaze focused on her brother.

The worst person in the whole house though was none other than Charlie Brown. All the color had drained from his face, leaving him a pale visage. All the warm, fuzzy confidence he had slowly built up over the night was ripped from his body. It was as if any hopes and dreams Charlie Brown had of making it through one party without incident were dashed before his eyes. Instead, whatever life he had to make it through the night was gone.

" _Here lies Charlie Brown, survived and killed by his sister at a party."_

At this instant, a rather peculiar event happened which if possible to believe, surpassed the level of shock and awe the previous events of the night had. The sound took only seconds for everyone in the house to register. It was a siren song everyone in the house had heard, at least once in their life. Yet for this particular occasion the song did not bring ease but rather escalated fear.

 _Weeeeeoo~_

"IT'S THE POLICE!" Benny yelled.

For a split second, everyone stiffened in the room and nobody moved. It was then that a solitary cup fell from a table stand. At that cue, every teenager in the house split for the nearest exit. Whether it was a door or a window over, juveniles left and right looked for the fastest way out.

Unbeknownst to most of the partygoers, the sudden confusion and onslaught of noise caused an already worn out Sally to pass out. It was her luck that Charlie Brown was standing next to her and had been snapped out his despair quick enough to catch a hold of the unconscious girl.

"Linus! Help!"

"Linus too had snapped out of his spell and was already rushing towards the two. Grabbing on one side of her torso and Charlie Brown on the other, the two hefted the girl up.

"Frieda, get the kitchen door." Linus instructed.

"Right. I'm on it."

The three wasted no time getting out of the home. The hostess held the door open while the two young gentlemen escorted the lady out of the house. Once in the backyard, Sally began to awake which led Charlie Brown and Linus to lift her on her feet, using their shoulders as impromptu crutches for her. Out in the front yard the police could be heard wailing on megaphones in a trombone like blare.

"Ugh, and I thought my sister was a handful already, what did I do to deserve a night like this?"

"You and me both, pal." Linus stated with snicker. "To be honest, I think I've had my share of parties for one high school year."

"More like my entire high school years."

The two gave weak smiles to each other.

"Hey guys, not to ruin whatever brotherly love you've got going on but I'm pretty sure the cops are going to be around here any minute."

"Frieda's right. Not to be blunt, but we're screwed if we're caught here tonight, especially you and your sister, Charlie Brown.

"Good grief! Well I hope you have an escape plan, Linus, because right now I'm all out of ideas."

"I'm sorry to say but I too find myself without any solutions at the present."

"If I may," Frieda interjected. "My neighbors to the right are gone for the weekend and tend to keep a spare key for their car under their front mat, which I just so happen to have a copy of."

"You have a copy of your neighbor's key?" Charlie Brown asked in surprise.

"You expect us to steal your neighbor's car?!" Linus brazenly inquired.

"They've asked me to run errands for them before. In turn, I get to drive their car for experience. Plus, its' not steal. It's borrowing, as in bringing back the car early next morning before people start asking questions."

Rather than talk back, the pair just stared at her, stupefied and yet oddly starting go along with her plan.

"So, who's driving?"

"Well, I guess I will-"

"No, not you. You can get a kite to fly. I am not trusting you with our lives, the car, and by involvement, Frieda's."

"Okay, okay. Sheesh. You can drive, my most trusting friend."

"I trust you in the things I can, Charlie Brown. The impossible is not one of them."

"Here's the key you two. Sneak around the back of their fence and hop over."

"Hop over with Sally?!"

"I'm sure you're both strong enough. Anyways, get to the left side of the house use the key to car outside, put Sally in the back, and make your getaway!"

"What happens if the police see, I don't know, two teenage boys stuffing a barely conscious girl into the back of a car next to the scene of a party?"

"Well then you improvise."

"I'm liking this plan more and more, Linus."

Boys and girls of various ages were still running about the house and perimeter from all angles. Linus snatched the car key from Frieda's fingers. Pausing for a bit, he went back to go under Sally's arm. The blonde haired girl had been mumbling softly for some time now. With a nod at each other, the two boys heaved and began working their way to the neighbor's yard. After a little ways, across, Linus turned his head back around.

"Well bring her back without a scratch!"

"You'd better! Or you're going to regret it, Linus Van Pelt! I'll make sure of that!"

Linus smirked before focusing back on the task at hand. Frieda gave a smile to his back before looking to organize the chaos unfolding in her home.

In insane situations such as, it would amaze even the brightest of individuals to find that they can pinpoint the smallest of details that are present when thinking back. From the smallest of scratches, to the feintest of stains, it is possible for people to hold onto the most specific memories. It came as a great wave of anxiety to Charlie Brown then, to find that in that moment Linus had turned around he remembered in the frenzy one particular sight that was embedded in his mind.

A vision of straight, dark red hair had been implanted in his memories.


	13. Chapter 13

**Authors's Note:**

It's been months since I came back to this story. To be honest, I've working on this chapter for quite some time. The problem was I never really knew how to approach this particular part in the story. It's this weird sort of downtime moment that I really wanted to add after last chapter but just couldn't complete until recently. Hopefully you will enjoy what I came up with. So without further ado, I present to you this chapter!

A Peanuts Tale

 **Chapter 13: Out of Sight, Out of Mind**

 **Featuring: Rerun, Pig-Pen, Schroeder, Violet, and Patty.**

"Of all the ridiculous things I've heard, that girl has spewed the inanest sentences of all!"

Schroeder had been power walking away from Frieda's house for a about 15 minutes. He was admittedly looking for Violet Gray yet secretly avoiding the party. By association of course, this meant he was avoiding Lucy too.

"It's idiotic, I tell ya. I get dragged to this party at an ungodly hour of the night, only to have to deal with the worst company possible. I didn't even get enough decent time to catch up with Charlie Brown, Linus, or any of the other guys. Nope! I have to deal with a snarky braggart and a raving fussbudget."

The young man trudged further down the road while galvanizing his grievances. He indelicately stroked his fingers along the length of his auricomous hair. No longer content to go after Violet considering how instrumental she was in building up his tormentor, Schroeder determined to call off his chase. Halting his movement, he stood in the middle of the sidewalk, internally questioning his next move.

"On one hand, I could go back home and act like nothing happened this particular evening. On the other hand, I can acknowledge that I do in fact still have unresolved conflicts in my life that need attention."

Schroeder took a deep breath and exhaled from his diaphragm.

"It seems my conscience wants to go with the latter for now. Perhaps that is for the best. After all, do not the greatest performers face their fears head on?"

The young artist spun around just in time to face a herd of kids stampeding past him.

"What the-"

"Schroeder is that you?"

Turning around against the current of the crowd was none other than town's dirtiest kid.

"Pig-Pen? What's going on?"

Out of nowhere, Rerun jumped in front of the dirt covered teen before he could have the chance to reply.

"Oh, I'll tell you what's going on. Frieda's party was busted! Anyone underage person with sense in their head is hightailing it home as fast possible. Me though? I'm getting as far away from sister as possible. There's no way I'm to going to suffer her or anyone woman's wrath tonight. Man, you should've seen what happened after you left. I mean it was a bloodbath. Friends chewing out friends, hate coming from everywhere. If they wanted all that drama, they waited at least until started!"

"Yeah, that way you could hide under and skip out on it."

"I did that once as a kid."

"You did that several times?"

"Wait, you said friends were fighting each other? What friends are you referring to?"

"Oh you know, nothing to unusual: Peppermint Patty and Marcie, Sally and Frieda, Sally and Linus, Sally and Charlie Brown… lots of Sally now that I think about it."

"You forgot Lucy and Sally too."

"Oh yeah, that's right. Oof, now that was nasty. Those girls were looking like they would end up being best friends forever too. What a shame it is. If only Sally had walked up to Lucy right after you ran-"

"Dude!"

"What? What did I- oh, man, I'm sorry Schroeder. It completely slipped my mind that you didn't know."

A look of utter distress set on the blonde boy's visage. An unwarranted sense of guilt befell his heart.

"Boy, well isn't that just dandy. I come to pay a friendly visit to some of my old pals only to inevitably cause the fissure of another friendship. Some saint I turned out to be."

Pig-Pen tried to offer some words to ease his friend's mind. "Look Schroeder, that wasn't your fault. Lucy and Sally are some of the most volatile women I've known. They were bound butt heads eventually. You being there just-"

"-sped up the process." Rerun interjected "If anything, I know my sister, she's like a dog. She's the type to leave no toy or bone go unchewed. Sally was just her latest toy that she had in her paws. She was playing with her. You probably have experience in that department."

"I'd rather not go over that, Rerun"

"Even if that's the entire point? What if you being back made Lucy crazy for the one toy she never got to sink her teeth into? What if after all these years of easy prey, even with the way things went, she still had longing desire for you. Face it, chum, you're exactly what Lucy's been looking for and my sister isn't known to play nicely."

Schroeder groaned in disgust. Despite everything he knew, deep down, that Lucy was not one to give up. No matter how angry or annoyed he got at her she never was the type to back off.

"Here I was thinking I'd finally catch a break from her."

Pig-Pen came up and put an arm around the distressed boy. "Look on the bright side, Schroeder. Once you become a world-famous musician you'll have dozens of crazed fans chasing after. Right now, you're actually better off than you'll ever be!"

"Gee, when you put it like that I'm SO grateful to be in my current situation."

"See? All your perspective needed was some adjustments and fine tuning."

"Yep, poco à poco you'll manage."

"Perhaps someday you and Lucy will even reach a major accord."

"Keep sharp my friend. Don't let your spirits fall flat."

"If you're done with musical puns it's high time I head on home."

"Done? Why we've barely started."

Exasperated, Schroeder pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Lucky me."

* * *

On another street, headed in the opposite direction was a very unlucky girl. Briskly stepping one foot after the other, the girl made headway from a previous altercation. A mixture of emotions bubbled underneath the layers of skin. Anger, humiliation, outrage, and disgust collided like atoms inside Violet Gray's frame. Yet the standout feeling of all that pierced her heart was a profound sense of loneliness.

"Here I am, a princess among paupers. Yet where is my prince to save me from the dragon? What happened to my subjects to adhere to my every little whim. Ha, if only…if only me being royalty was true. Instead I, a lady of high social standing, have been reduced to trekking away from a party on foot."

Violet proclaimed her inner thoughts to the outer world. Regardless of her wishes however, she had yet to cross a single individual.

" _I at least expected Schroeder to chase after me, even if to simply spite Lucy. Ugh! Why, oh why am I so ticked off about this!"_

The dolled-up girl's flats kicked a loose pebble on the ground. Her slender legs slowly shortened her stride. A hop and skip away was the end of the block and subsequently the edge of the neighborhood. Beyond the concrete laid down was a borough of brick and stone mason houses among hilly terrain.

"Homes, homes, everywhere, as far as the eye can see. Yet when it comes to my home, I just can't seem to find it."

"Perhaps you're just looking the wrong place."

Violet froze in her spot. She was not expecting someone to be listening in to her private thoughts which she happened to be vocalizing for the sake of comfort. More so, she was even less prepared for a reply of any kind. For a brief pause she considered that perhaps Schroeder had come to her rescue until she pondered over the distinct lack of masculine inflection in the passing comment. Feeling emboldened nevertheless, she spun around, half expecting and half wishing Lucy to have come begging for an apology. What she didn't expect was to be face to face with a pie-eyed Patty, her shoes in one hand and a canteen in the other.

"Patty? What the heck are you doing out here, and why are you barefoot?"

"First, I could ask the same thing of you. Second, my feet are killing me! I really need to find better soles for the shoes I buy. You would not believe how many blisters I have."

"Like I care about your blisters Patty. You didn't answer my original question anyway."

"Yeesh, 'nice to see you too', Violet. As for your interrogation, I picked up on the tail-end of your little fallout with Lucy. It was only a bit later before the cops came to bust the party. I hightailed it out of there in these torturous feet devices, but not before catching sight of you all the way down the road. I figured, what the hey? Mine as well see what my best friend ever is up to all on her lonesome."

"Wait a second. You stalked this whole time?"

"Call it stalking, call it secretly trailing, whatever floats your boat, Violet."

"I cannot believe you right now. I mean you're walking around cockeyed and of all the fish in the sea you could swim with-"

"I ended up against the current, swimming with you."

"Hmph. What a dumb fish."

"Hey, to be fair, I skipped the school."

Violet giggled at her pal's pun who eagerly joined in.

"So I'm taking that my freak-out was the climax of the evening?"

"Eh, if you don't count Sally tearing Lucy a new one in front of dozens of people I'd definitely say so."

"I'm sorry, but Sally?"

"Yep."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh."

"Wow."

"I know."

The air stilled to a quiet for a moment.

"Guess, Frieda's not hosting the Halloween party now."

"Oh, now with those neighbors who called in."

"Serves her right."

Patty pulled her canteen up to her lips. "I'll drink to that."

"Haven't you drunk enough tonight?"

"Hey this is _water._ For your information, I am a bonafide fish and unless I've been lied to my entire life it is a known fact that fish need water to survive."

Violet grinned before smugly countering her argument. "How would you know? You didn't go to school, remember?"

"True. What can I say? I'm a rebellious bad girl at heart."

"Keep telling yourself that."

"I will. I learned the bad part from you."

"Oh, what about the rebellious one, then?"

"That, my sweet Violet, always comes natural to me."

The newly dyed blonde twirled around in place with nimble precision.

" _For someone such as me_

 _With grace and beauty_

 _It's easy to see_

 _How one could envy me._ "

" _Well for one such as myself_

 _With great class, taste, and wealth,_

 _It's impossible to not to notice_

 _The lone violet among the lotus._ "

" _Well it's not hard to visualize_

 _Our great looks attracting many eyes._ "

" _Yet it's tough sometimes to behold ~_

 _" That we're priceless compared to gold!_"

With a nod and a laugh the pair joined arms. Euphoria filling their senses, the pair skipped back the way they came, beaming with newfound energy. Perhaps their merriment would have seemed outlandish and bizarre to a passerby. It's feasible that the drink in Patty's system and the aftershocks of Violet's mood were taking form in an extremely unusual mode. If anything, any onlooker would not envision two high school girls at this time of night skipping in playful gaiety.

Yet, ask either of the duo about how they look and they would not have a care in the wind. The two were in their own dreamlike haze now, reliving a time of nostalgia where they lived with abandonment. For Patty, she was at her most confident, with her closest confidant by her side. Nothing could shake the ground she was on and she felt she could face the entire world.

For Violet, she was at her most eased. All the trials and tribulations that had plagued her today were finally tuned out of her mind. The pressures of the party which had weighed on her head finally had been lifted from her temples. She was no longer concerned with what Frieda, or Charlie, or even Lucy had said or planned. All she knew was herself, her simple yet extravagant person.

Today she was Violet Gray, a good girl made of fool in public.

Tomorrow she would be Violet Gray, a mean queen who would make the public into her fools.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note:**

 **Sorry for the wait! This chapter is a bit slow but it acts as a bridge between the events coming up soon. I hope you still enjoy it!**

A Peanuts Tale

 **Chapter 14: Dog Days of Summer**

 **Starring: Charlie Brown, Sally Brown, Linus van Pelt, and Snoopy**

It was past midnight and Snoopy was lounging on carpet of the Brown's home. It had been a tremendous night of theatrics for him as Sally Brown scrambled to put together an act to convince her parents that the simple beagle was her. An elaborate disguise was devised in but mere minutes and a contraption of prerecorded snores was set up to fool the Brown parents into thinking their sweet daughter was but slumbering.

(Oh, what a performance. What a charade that was! To think, Broadway thought I was too dramatic for a Tony! Well look at me, a tried and true actor good enough to make people think I'm not acting, but actually am the character! I do owe that girl a bit of credit though. I must admit, it was quite clever of her to use not one, not two, but three blankets in my costume design to cover me. If she put half of thought she did in designing that into her work we may not have to listen to her complain about school again!)

 _Sniff, Sniff!_

(What's that smell? Do I detect the faint aroma of that round headed kid nearby?)

The spotted canine's ears perked up. A shuffling of footsteps emanated out of the backyard. In a flash, Snoopy took off through dog door in the kitchen. When his front paws hit the grassy lawn of the backyard, he stared up at the new arrivals to the home.

Charlie, Sally, and Linus had snuck around the side of the house with a passed-out Sally now carried on Linus' back. The two boys had parked a way down the street to not draw attention from Brown parents. While Charlie was initially against carrying Sally Brown, Linus argued that he had driven all the way back making it Charlie Brown's time for leg work. Of course, Charlie only made it a house a way before he got a cramp, causing Linus to be Sally's piggyback for the moment.

(Why if it isn't that round headed kid, after all!)

"You're tasked with thankless job, Linus. No, 'Gee, thanks for driving my sister and me back from a party busted by the cops.'. Nope, it's straight from one heavy duty, to the other."

"Mmm, who's calling me fat?"

"Shhh, you guys! Mom and dad are asleep by now but you two talking loud and proud might not keep it that way."

"Yeah, well your criticism of how I motivate myself in these dire situations isn't exactly helping either!"

"Sure Patty, I'll have another glass of that!"

"Argh, what's with her anyway?"

"Her constant drinking combined with her breakdown has had a significant toll on her body, Charlie Brown. She's seems to be drifting in and out of consciousness as we speak."

Charlie Brown scrunched up his forehead. "Great, just great. I have a talking, hallucinatory, sister to deal with inside with two slumbering parents who would be only be too eager to ground me after what happened tonight."

"Be thankful that you have a sister that's only hallucinating. I can't even imagine what I'm going to have to deal with once I'm in the same house as Lucy again soon."

The creases on Charlie Brown's temple disappeared as he let out a shaky breath. "You're right Linus, my problems are nothing next to what you'll be dealing with later."

"Oh, you don't say?"

"Really, Linus. The way I see it, I'll have to deal with a bratty Sally for about, oh a day, before it all blows over for her. You on the other hand, are going to be stuck with a crabby Lucy for who knows how long. No one considers your sister the type to just let things go. It could be weeks, or months even before she's back to her usual self, which isn't exactly a nice thing on its own."

"Good thinking, Charlie Brown. Keep it up and you'll be the poster child for pollyannaism."

"Polly and who?"

(Hey, I knew a Polly. She was pretty cute but a _very_ demanding woman.)

"You know, normally I'd be very much obliged to answer your question, Charlie Brown. However, under the circumstances we are currently in, I think it best that we keep the talking to a minimum now and hurry on with ensuring you and your sister's safe and stealthy entrance into your household."

"Do you mean-"

"Starting now."

"Right."

It was now that Charlie Brown took notice of Snoopy's appearance outside. The lovable mutt was gazing expectedly at zigzag clad young boy, as if waiting for something from him. Reaching down, Charlie Brown scratched behind the playful dog's ears. The boy stood up and gave one glance at Snoopy's eyes with Snoopy giving one back as if the two were telepathically communicating with one another.

" _Sorry Snoopy, but it's past your supper and right now I've got important stuff to take care of."_

(Rats, and here I thought I'd get at the very least a treat. Ah well, such is life.)

Checking the peripheral of his view of the yard one last time, Charlie made sure the coast was clear before opening the back door of the house.

The kitchen was clad in darkness, with only the dim light of the moon providing the barest of illumination. The air was cool and clear, a refresher from the summer heat that persisted into the night. With a wave of his hand, Charlie beckoned Linus into the house holding the door open for the astute boy and Charlie's baby sister.

With a steady creep, the two boys and one girl maneuvered through the floors of the house, step by step, all while the ever nosy Snoopy followed behind.

(A stealth mission! How thrilling this is! It reminds me of my days sneaking across the German border to bring intel back to the Allies. Now that's a story worth writing about.)

Inch by inch, the group of four navigated their way across the living room and to the foyer where the base of the house's staircase laid.

(Good job men! Our presence continues to go unnoticed. What is our next move?)

"Well Charlie Brown," Linus whispered, any bets that your staircase isn't a squeaky one?"

In response, the round headed kid stepped his right foot on the first step, only to be met with a resounding creak.

"As if this night could get any worse..."

"Think positive, Linus! There's got to be some way we get upstairs without setting off a car alarm with each step. Come on, we got to think of something!"

"Give me a second, Charlie Brown. I swear your soul is laced with misfortune to constantly run into these problems."

"Sole…lace…Linus you're a genius!"

"Of course?"

With great haste, Charlie Brown unlaced his pair of shoes and removed them from his feet.

"Mind telling me what you're doing?"

"If we just wear our socks we should be able to walk lighter and with less sound."

(Ah, the old sock'em in the dark technique, excellent strategy my friend. I, being naturally intuitive of course, already put the plan in motion. As you can see, I have neither shoe or sock on my puppy paws.)

Yet again, Charlie Brown tested the first level of the staircase. Gently placing the ball of his foot down before arching down the heel, Charlie chanced his fate and put some weight in his step. When no rickety response was met from the floor below, the teenage boy duo gave out a collective sigh of relief.

"It seems your ingenuity actually paid off."

"Who could doubt me? Now come on, take off your sneakers."

"Well, you see I would but I just so happen to be in the predicament of bearing the burden of your sister's weight right now. Seeing as how my hands preoccupied, you'll have to excuse me for being unable comply with your request."

"Geez, I guess all the grouchiness transferred to you from me." Charlie Brown knelt down to untie the laces of Linus' shoes.

"That tends to happen when you're dealing with more bulk than normal."

"Hey, as much Sally can be a hassle, it isn't nice of you to make fun of her weight."

"I'm not- look, she's not heavy. It's just that I've never been the most physically active person in the world. I struggle using that backpack you see me daily with.

"Which I happen to be carrying."

"Oh, so graciously, I must add." Linus sardonically commented. "Yet here I am heaving someone around that's at least my backpack and a half in size."

"That doesn't so bad."

"Trust me, Charlie Brown. It's a pain, a growing pain."

"Okay, so I admit I have been relying on you a lot tonight."

"Unquestionably."

"Yet I did so without ever asking for your opinion or telling your how appreciative I am."

"…"

Charlie Brown paused his actions while his best friend loomed above with silent regard.

"Look, thank you, Linus."

"You're welcome, man."

(I hate to interrupt this jamboree, but can we get this show on the road here?)

With the fasteners undone, Linus slipped out of his sneakers one at a time. Charlie Brown put both his and Linus' shoes inside the latter's bag for safekeeping.

In an overly cautious manner, Linus and Charlie Brown began their ascent to the second story. With a mouse like gait, the two silently rose, step by step, up the stairs with the happy beagle just a foot away. The silent trip felt like hours to the boys, with every move having the possibility of giving them away. It was dreadful for Charlie, harrowing for Linus, and electrifying for Snoopy.

Finally, the pair of teenagers made it to the top, mentally fatigued but still able to enjoy the brief respite. The frown on the elder Brown sibling's face relaxed and he led the way to the younger sibling's room. Sally was now soundly asleep on Linus' back, no longer randomly voicing phrases. While one would think a quiet Sally Brown would ease Linus van Pelt's mind it actually had the opposite effect. The disheveled haired young man was now all too aware of the sleeping form attached behind him. The heat and softness of her body, combined with the periodic breathing of the girl made Linus involuntarily shudder. Despite the controlled temperament the teenager showed on the inside, panic from such close contact to _her_ of all people seized him from the inside.

" _Can this night be over, yet? Once this is over, I am snuggling with my blanket in bed."_

After several arduous steps later, the group reached the entrance to Sally's room. Turning the doorknob, Charlie Brown pushed through the entryway, the rest of the gang following swiftly behind.

"We made it." Charlie softly declared.

"It's about time!"

(Well, that's another successful mission on the resume. Who said I couldn't a beagle couldn't rival a SEAL?

Linus walked over to the bed neatly tucked into far corner on the wall opposite the door. Giving out a small breath, the young man began crouching down, facing away from the mattress. Had Charlie Brown had anymore to drink, he would've half expected his friend to just drop his sister right then and there. He knew Linus though. He wasn't the type of guy to physically hurt others, at least not deliberately.

" _All those impulses went to Lucy."_

Gently, Linus laid the sleeping beauty down on top of her bed to rest. Already, the girl had begun to reflexively roll curl up onto her side. Charlie Brown lifted up a quilt from the ground and drew it over his slumbering sibling. While Charlie tucked in one side of the cover, Linus cleared his throat.

"Well, I guess I should be on my way. Not that isn't a pleasure to be your guest here but I'm thinking I've overstayed my welcome."

"Wait."

Linus looked down at his friend who was grasping onto the edge of the bed.

"When I thanked you earlier Linus, I didn't mean just for this."

The van Pelt son shifted his stance while Charlie Brown continued speaking.

"You've always had my back, pal. We've been through thick and thin together and no matter what you stick by me. Even tonight, when both my sister and me clearly were an inconvenience, you went out of your way to help us out and get us home safely. There really aren't many words that can describe my feelings of gratitude towards that."

Charlie Brown turned his head to face his friend.

"I'm grateful to have you as a friend."

Linus, standing in silence, soaked in those last words as a desert cactus would take in water the minute it could. Every bit of connotation, every unspoken meaning that was contained in what Charlie had said, did not pass by unrecognized in Linus' head.

"I uh, I mean- you're welcome, Charlie Brown."

The teenager offered a small little smile, more forced than he wanted to let on. Lucky for him, Charlie Brown did not seem to take notice of this, instead returning his own genuine smile back at him. Standing up from his sister's bed, Charlie walked back over to Sally's door.

"Oh, I almost forgot. You'll probably be needing this."

The older boy shrugged the straps of Linus' backpack off his shoulders, offering the bag to his friend.

"Right. That would've been unfortunate to leave behind."

"Yeah. I'm betting you're going to be snuggling with that blanket real tight considering the day you've had.

"Ha, ha."

" _You have no idea._ "

"Well, I really should be going."

"Yeah, I guess so. Good night, Linus. I'll see you Monday morning?"

"You bet, good bye, Charlie Brown."

With that, Linus swiftly went out the room, down the stairs, and through the back of the house. Charlie Brown sighed contentedly to himself, happy the events of the day were at last, finally over. A nudge, however, drew his attention down to his leg where Snoopy happened to be rubbing against for Charlie to see.

(Well pal, we did it. What's next on the agenda?)

The boy lovingly scratched the fur behind the dog's ears.

"With this, I'd say it's time for an overdue snooze."


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note**

 **Hello, everyone! It's been a while! I apologize for the extended wait. I had a terrible case of writer's block and procrastination in shaping up this chapter. This is somewhat of a transitional stage of the story in that it is more of the slower beats of the full narrative. Though it isn't as exciting in that sense as previous chapters, I tried my best to keep it interesting. With all that said, I hope you enjoy!**

A Peanuts Tale

 **Chapter 15: Back to the Old Grind**

 **Featuring: Lucy, Linus, and Rerun van Pelt**

Sunday came in like the ocean tide, without surprise or commotion. Many of the people that had attended Frieda's party the previous night were still recovering from their evening activities. Sad as it was to say, only a few kids would be enjoying their last hours of summer vacation with a fully rested body while the rest lazily stalked through the hours of the day.

One such person who was having a particularly troubling road to recovery happened to be the ever loud, Lucy van Pelt.

After the events of the previous night, Lucy had awoken to a dull headache. She had made it home in the confusion of dozens of people scrambling to evade the cop bust. With a groan, she crawled out from under her covers and onto her bedroom's floor. A glance down at herself revealed that she had slept in her party attire rather than her pajamas. Sighing to herself, Lucy walked out her door and sluggishly maneuvered her body to the bathroom down the hall.

Pushing herself through the opening, the beat, young woman found herself in front of the mirror. Gazing into her reflection, what she saw was truly a shell of her former self. Her entire appearance was appalling to her eyes. Entire decades seemed to have passed the way her face seemed sunken in. Her hair was a mess of tangles and wild curls. Bags of weariness weighed below her red irritated irises. Cheeks that not too long ago were dabbed in makeup were now flushed in splotches.

To say she was not at her best would be putting it lightly.

"Ugh, I've got a lot to work with here."

Picking up a hairbrush, the young brunette began working her way through her bedhead, one strand at a time. Soon after she grabbed her toothbrush and whitened her mouth for the morning. A washcloth was taken to clean her facial pores. Satisfied for the moment, Lucy used a stick of deodorant and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

Upon her arrival, the eldest sibling was met with her two younger brothers, one standing by the stove and the other situated on a chair. Linus was cooking up a feast for a king: eggs, bacon, pancakes, grits, and hash browns all flanked by plates of delectable fruit. Meanwhile, Rerun sat and read through the Sunday paper, specifically the comics section. While one hand was preoccupied holding the print the other was grasping a pair of scissors. Whenever a particular comic stood out to the young boy, usually the funnier ones, he cut it out and placed it in a pile to his right on the table.

"Ah, just in time for breakfast I see." Lucy glided towards a chair at the head of the table.

"Who said this is for you?" Rerun commented, not even removing his eyes from the newspaper.

"I did, twerp, isn't that right Linus?"

"Yeah, yeah, Sleeping Beauty."

"I hope that wasn't sarcasm, dear brother. I'm not in the mood for snide comments."

"Well I'm not in the mood for knuckle sandwiches so take it as a compliment for now." Linus moved from the kitchen counter and placed a bowl filled with a variety of melons and berries down on the tabletop. Lucy idly shifted her eyes over to Rerun.

"You know, I'd figured you'd have grown out of those by now."

"I figured you'd have grown out of your diaper before me. I guess we were both surprised."

"You know those'll rot your brain, right?

Rerun glanced up from his current reading. "Don't they say that for television?"

"Shows what you know. The damage is already done. If you spent less time looking at comics and more time watching the news…" Lucy quickly snatched half of the paper from her baby brother's hands. "…or read it for that matter, you may actually learn what is real and not in the world."

"Hmph. No thanks. I'd rather stick to what I know for the time being. Comics will always be comics. That's all I need to know for now."

"It would do you both good if you forewent your casual entertainment and picked up a good book someday. You'll do a lot more for your brain in one sitting with a novel than a years' worth of channel surfing or comic reading."

"Oh yeah? Well for all that reading you do it's hard for me to imagine how ignorant you can still be when the truth is right in your face."

"…the truth? Exactly, what are you referring to?"

"I saw you talking to Frieda last night." Lucy accusingly pointed out.

"Yes. We did indeed share a few words."

"Really. It seemed like you were with her the whole night actually. In fact, I can't recall a single person that redheaded ninny talked for more than five minutes than you."

"Your point being?"

"You really are dense, huh?"

"If you're implying what I think you are-"

"I'm only _insinuating_ based on the facts I know."

"Well if you had the full story you would realize that I simply trying to keep away from one crazy girl that night and it just so happened that Frieda was a way to avoid said person."

"Is that so?"

"It is."

"Hmm. Than tell me: What did Frieda have to gain from that?"

"What?"

"No woman does anything for free Linus, unless it's for her children. No girl's running a free charity to help you anywhere. Life's a business, a very lucrative one for popular high school girls at that. So, let me ask you again: what did she get from helping you?"

"She…she gained nothing?"

Lucy slammed her palm on the table, making the two van Pelt brothers flinch.

"I take back what I said, Rerun. Read all the comics you want. Apparently, stupidity is hereditary for the men in our family. There's absolutely nothing you can do to help that."

Piling a small dish with a stack of bacon and flapjacks, Lucy got up and headed back towards her room. With one foot on the first landing, she looked back towards the kitchen.

"In fact, it would do you better if you sped up the dumbing process. At least you'd have a few years' experience more than that moron over there."

"With that, the bombastic young woman climbed the rest of the stairs leaving two baffled brothers alone with a hearty breakfast in plenty and no appetites left.

"Women."

"No, Lucy."

The pair smiled before chuckling at their words.

"So, what are your plans for the final day of summer vacation?"

"Aside from doing this," Rerun gestured to the comic clippings, "I'm planning on meeting up with some of the guys in the afternoon."

"Afternoon, huh…" Linus stroked his chin while he was in deep thought.

"Well since it's technically still morning, how about you and I play a rousing game of b-ball for old times' sake?" Linus finished his offer with an expectant and optimistic composure. His brother visibly recoiled at the suggestion though, before giving his reply.

"Ah, come on, Linus. This is the millionth time you've asked me to play that stupid sport. Keep nagging me like that you'll end up like mom or worse, our sweet sister." It was at this moment that Rerun knew he had a made a mistake for Linus put on his "educator" face and began laying down the cold hard facts.

"Basketball is not a stupid sport my dear brother. It's quite the opposite in fact. Do you know the numerous strategies coaches devise, tailored specifically for each players' strengths and weaknesses? That's not even getting into the split second tactical decisions a player must make on the court combined with an overwhelming degree of hand eye coordination and attention to correctly-"

"Pfft, it's a load of hogwash to me. Don't be too upset about it though. I feel the same way for all sports, really. I just tolerate playing them more with my friends."

"Wait a minute. You're telling me that you hate sports."

"Yes."

"However, you admittedly play a myriad of sports with your peers."

"Yup."

"Yet, when your big brother asks you for a simple game of shooting hoops, you refuse?"

"I had a feeling Lucy was wrong. You really are the smart one in our family."

Rerun sat complacently while Linus looked on with chagrin. Deciding to take the affront in stride rather than face further embarrassment, the scraggly haired youth picked himself up and exited the room, cheeks warm from the belittling comments by his siblings. Seeing as how now he had the room to himself, Rerun reached into his pant pocket and pulled out his cellphone. With deft fingers, a quick text was typed out and sent at the press of a button.

 _Heading over in a minute :P_

Merely a beat past before the telltale ding of a new message sounded from the mobile device. Peering down at the screen, the boy focused on the arrived words.

 _Same! See you soon! :)_

Much like his brother, a soft blush found its way on the cheeks of the boy. The difference was that this was the warm, fuzzy feeling of affection, rather than humiliation. Gathering up the strips he had cut out and cleaning up his part of the table, for he imagined the middle child of the house to do the rest, the young man raced up the stairs and dropped his things off. Dashing down once more and hurriedly putting on his shoes, the young male flew out the front doorway of the house. Futile would it be to try and delay this runner down, be it rain, snow, or a calamitous event, for there was nothing in the world he was more excited for than the established meeting he was rushing towards.

With fervent speed, and an eager pace, Rerun navigated his way through neighborhood streets and city sidewalks, crossing asphalt roads and dodging the occasional bike rider or scootering kid. Zooming his way past the old elementary school his brother, sister, and him used to attend, the youngest van Pelt member made a beeline for a park just in the distance. In less than a minute he had arrived at his destination, setting a record that would shame the best sprinters in the county. Panting with his hands on his knees, short fast breaths escaped lips trying to oxygenate his drained body.

"Took you a while, huh?"

Shocked out of his exhaustion, Rerun craned his neck upwards in the direction of the voice. His sight settled on a tree but a few feet away and out from behind the trunk walked a lone figure.

Adjusting his vision to the face of the new person, a gleeful smile took control over Rerun's visage.

"Really? I outran cheetahs to get here before you. What great sorcery did you use to beat me?"

"It was but the magical works of the city bus, I must admit. You should try it sometime, it could save you money on needing extra deodorant.

Confused for a minute, Rerun observed his clothing only to find his shirt drenched with sweat. Put on the spot, the young man covered his armpits and looked sheepishly at the ground.

"Hehe, I might've forgotten to put some on before I left. I was a bit…nervous to come here."

"You nervous? I would never have known."

"Oh, shut up." Rerun stated lightly.

"Haha! Sorry, sorry I poked fun at you for a bit." Rerun turned away with a pouty expression. "I am flattered though…and a bit nervous myself."

Turning around, it was now Rerun turn to find a red, blushing face.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, at least we're not alone with our problems, right?"

Opposite of rerun, a tiny grin appeared followed by a happy giggle.

"I guess you're right about that. That makes one win for you today."

"Seems like we're tied then."

"Huh, it seems so."

The person extended arm from their side and offered a hand.

"Shall we continue this little competition more on this date?"

Rerun gladly took the hand in front of him.

"Oh, you're on."

The two threaded their fingers and walked side by side down a path in the park, basking in the last few hours of summer daylight before school the very next day.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note:**

 **It's been a long time since I've updated. I sincerely apologize for that. Last fall I had a major case of writer's block and struggled to find the best ways to move the story forward. Seriously, this chapter took months to write and looking at it now it's largely uneventful in comparison to previous ones. Still, I'm trying to set up events for the future and so I feel the need to add beats like this to the overall narrative.**

 **I assume you're eager to read the chapter so I won't keep you any longer. I'll have a longer author's note down at the bottom to share more aspects of my thought process for this story. For**

A Peanuts Tale

 **Chapter 16: Tongue-in-Cheek**

 **Starring: Peppermint Patty, Charlie Brown, and Sally Brown**

Late afternoon clouds rolled into town as the sun started to set. The mood of the day had dramatically shifted from that of grogginess to apprehension. Young people all over town were sobering up to the stark reality that school was just around the corner. Last minute supplies were hastily bought by the most forgetful. Backpacks and bags were frantically packed by the most studious. The final games of play were had among teams of teens. All savored the final breaths of summer vacation.

All except Charlie Brown that is.

Who was stuck inside with a splitting headache.

After the stressful events of the previous night, Charlie had awoken with a searing pain in his temple. He had inside all morning taking it all, one half step at a time. Ironically, Sally Brown was in perfect health when she woke up. She had practically skipped out of bed before running out with her mom for some errands she needed to do before for school. Mr. Brown was out getting yard supplies as well, leaving Charlie behind to wallow in his migraine.

Fraught with anxiety over the coming of school, Charlie Brown tried to clear his mind by watching some classic westerns downstairs on the living room tv. Yet try as he might, his thoughts wandered to one very familiar shade of red and the girl whose hair was that color.

" _Ah, what a lovely red it was. Why I could just stare at it all day and never have to worry about any other problem again. I'd just be lost in a crimson wave of-"_

"NO!"

At first, Charlie didn't recognize that the scream came from his own mouth. After a few seconds it dawned upon as well as the reason as to why.

"I can't think about her again! That little crush of mine was practically an obsession. I can't imagine how creeped out she'd be if she found out. Heck, I was in a constant state of panic for an entire year when she was in the same class as mine!"

Abruptly, Charlie Brown stood up and started briskly pacing around the room. He took to biting his nails as a nervous tick and sweated profusely from the top of his head down the length of his neck. All the while his ever-paranoid brain came up with a n endless possibility of scenarios involving him and any contact with his object of affection, the Little Red-Haired Girl. Yet all possibilities ended in disaster within his imagination, boosting the already enormous size of his pessimism.

"Think Charlie, think! So, we know she is around, but she doesn't know that I'm still here. If I avoid her at all costs nothing bad will come of this! Of course, there is the chance she finds out I still live here and goes to confront me. Or I accidentally freeze again when I see her and can't run away. Or-"

 _Riiiing!_

"Agh!"

The ever-clear electronic call of the phone snapped Charlie Brown back into reality.

"Oh boy, get a hold of yourself. It's probably just Linus checking up after last night."

The bald-headed kid walked up to the end table at the side of the main couch. With slightly sweaty hands he reached for the phone on top and put the receiver next to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Chuck, old pal! Is that you?"

" _Only one person on this planet calls me that name._ "

"Peppermint Patty?'

"In the flesh! Well, ear so to speak. I've been itching to talk to you all morning, mister."

"You have?"

"Have so. See after yesterday's shindig went straight to the toilets, I thought about how this summer was about to end on a big old sour note."

"I was thinking the same thing…"

"But that's when I realized something, Chuck! You want to know what that is?"

"What is it Patty?"

"I DON'T WANT THAT!"

The sheer volume of her words knocked poor Charlie Brown right off his feet and onto his back, the phone landing on the floor right by the side of his ear.

"I have a limited amount of summers left, Chuck, before I'm put out into the real world where I have to face reality, work, daily stress, and taxes. I'm not ready for taxes, Chuck! I barely made it out of History with a D! How do they expect me to know what my taxes are if I couldn't remember them for our Revolutionary War Exam?"

"Um Patty, I think you're getting a bit ahead of yourself."

 _"Not to mention, I'm beginning to understand how you get lower grades then me._ "

"Well, it's just no fair, Chuck! It's not fair! Which is exactly I said no, I'm not gonna let the end of this summer be a bummer like all the rest of mine might be. I'm going to have to most kickass final hours of of this glorious season imaginable among the great outdoors. So, what say you, Chuck? Wanna join me in my outing?"

 _"Please say yes._ "

"Actually Patty…"

" _Oh no. I should've never called. Why, oh why am I so stupid and bigmouthed? All I do is yak, yak, yak, and say things I shouldn't. Agh, I should just hang up now and-_ "

"that sounds perfect."

" _Huh?_ "

"Huh?"

"Well, yes. I'd love to go."

"Really?! You mean it?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I've been dying to get out of the house anyway. It's been a pain being stuck by myself with all my thoughts. Not to mention it's a smidge too cold in here for my liking. Of course, I never bother touching the thermostat because my dad sets the A/C to a very clear temperature and if I even moved it a hair he'd probably be very upset. There's also this weird draft I've been noticing from one of the windows-"

"Hehe, good ol' Chuck, can always find the faults. So, you're absolutely, one hundred percent committed to this?"

"Of course, I couldn't dream of doing anything else."

"Good. I hold you to your word then. Meet me by the old oak at 1:15 then, and don't be late!"

"I have a few odds and ends around the house finish up, but I shouldn't make in time for then."

"Oh god, you already have math homework?"

"Uh, no. I'll still be there, though!"

"You better, Chuck! So, it's agreed."

"Yup"

 _Click!_

" _Thank you, Patty. I was looking for something to keep my mind off of 'you-know-who._ "

" _Hmm, hmm, hmm~ what a success! I didn't think Chuck, in a million years would want to hang outside with me after all that excitement last night. I thought I'd have to strongarm him into coming not have him willingly and happily coming along. Did I brighten his day? Hehe, Patty, you smooth talker. What was I even worried about before? With my words and body doing the action, this day will be a homerun._ "

" _It's the perfect distraction._ "

" _It's the perfect date._ "

"Eugh…"

Those were the first sounds to escape Sally Brown's mouth the moment she awoke. The dry heat of a desert settled in her throat. The unpleasant aftertaste of bile lingered on her taste buds. With hesitance, she tried to move her legs, but her mind was being bombarded with sensory overload. Eventually with enough effort, Sally roused herself from her coma, testing her legs out on the carpeted surface below. Finding her footing, the youthful blonde slowly strode toward her door, picking up an assortment of items necessary for her morning routine.

Like a glacier, Sally inched her way down the hall after leaving her room. Sloths would be ashamed at the sluggish speed she moved at. After quite some time she finally arrived at the bathroom. Chancing it, she looked upon her reflection and was not all too surprised at the state of her current appearance. One may ponder if the girl had been turning to stone with the amount of sleep crusting her face. Signs of drool were painted along her chin and the front of her pajama shirt. Her right cheek was creased from the positioning of her fist in her slumber.

Releasing a yawn held captive in her jaws, the young Brown began to work on fixing herself up. of water and moisturizers cascaded from her hairline downward. Thin bristles weaved in between rows of pearly whites, dislodging particles of food stuck in the gaps. Her golden tresses were attended to with the utmost care with deft hands managing brushes, combs, curling irons, and blow dryers. It took a good amount of effort, both in skill and patience, to get that exact look she had, the one she was known for. When she did however, Sally smiled, for the hairstyle complimented her splendidly. Applying some light makeup and deodorant, Sally finished her hygiene routine and scurried away back to her quarters.

Placing all her stuff down on her cabinet, Sally pirouetted, but stopped midway in front of her closet. Opening the doors, Sally Brown came face to face with her own personal cave of wonders. After giving pause to ponder over what color combination she would wear today, Sally swiftly decided and assembled all the pieces of clothing she would need. A light knitted purple sweater molded itself over a simple gray tee. The young lady's legs slid into a pair of pink sweatpants with black polka dots. Lavender socks swallowed toes, feet, and ankles alike. The transformation from bed head to public face was complete and Sally Brown was now hungrier than ever.

Zooming from one house level to the next, the famished child found herself at the door of the refrigerator. Opening it, a treasure trove of delectable delights revealed themselves inside.

Salivating at the mouth, Sally plunged her hands inside the fridge and pulled out several preserved breakfast foods. Sally prepared her forthcoming morning banquet by stacking a plate a mile high with pancakes and topping it off with syrup. Using another plate, she piled bacon strip after strip and placed a plethora of scrumptious fruit on a smaller dish. Satisfied at the moment with her current arrangement, Sally Brown ambled over to the kitchen table, placing her butt on a firm wooden chair.

Delight took form on Sally's face as she munched on her first meal of the day. Bite after bite took her taste buds to a plane of zest and flavor on a flight path straight toward her shriveling stomach. It shocked the blonde "baby" of the Brown family how delicious her food was. All throughout her life, she was never the one to call breakfast the most important meal of the day, as dinner and dessert were far superior in terms of fulfilment to her. Regardless, if she were to rate this current spread in front of her, the darling daughter would consider this breakfast to be rousing success, succeeding her expectations.

With all the grub having passed through her gullet, Sally Brown now had the decision of mapping out the rest of her day's activities. Smacking her lips, she racked her brain for plausible scenarios she would actually go through with.

" _Let's see, let's see…Getting ready for school? Nope. Apologizing to Lucy? HA, fat chance. Seeing my sweet babboo? Ah, that would be wonderful…except for the fact that he probably thinks I'm trash considering how I acted in front of him tonight._ "

With mounting frustration, Sally Brown threw her hands up in the air and yelled to herself.

"Eugh! This is hopeless! Am I destined to be alone? A sorry, single, sap idling the streets with no sight in mind? Must I be like big brother?! Oh, if there was only someone I could talk to. I need someone completely removed Lucy and the other cronies. I need someone of my intelligence, no, a bit dumber, so I don't feel as if I'm being talked down upon or am misunderstood like I've been recently. This person would have to be so meticulously selected (" _Oh, Linus would love that phrase~")_ that not only would they be on the same wavelength as me they could empathize with my feelings by having gone through identical turmoil in terms of love life."

" _But where…where I could possibly find a person who fits all these traits and more?_ "

Slowly, a Cheshire grin spreads between Sally's cheekbones. It just so happens that she does know someone of similar circumstance to her. Not only that, this person just so happened to have come back home from a summer trip and would most likely have nothing better to do for the remainder of the day. Scurrying over to the house phone, Sally dialed four numbers before an incoming call interrupted her. Recognizing the number, Sally answered the call with a creepy calm.

"Hello?"

"Hey Eudora! I was actually about to call you!"

"Really?"

"Yes, you're just the person I wanted to talk to."

 **Extra Author's Note:**

 **Again, I apologize for the lateness of this! Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter despite its relative slowness.**

 **I always saw this story as being a slow burn, unlike any other fics involving the Peanuts. I envisioned it as taking the day to day scenarios one would find in a classic Schulz panel and extending them out into chapters, connecting them as one interwoven plot.**

 **As you might've seen, I'm really trying to emulate the personality of most of the cast as best as I can. In some cases, such as Shermy, Frieda, and Franklin, I've taken more liberties than the others in order to give them the depth they didn't typically have in their appearances within the script(although I'm trying not to make them act like entirely different characters).**

 **My main goal, for now, is to try write a fully fleshed out school year involving this cast of 15 principal characters: Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, Sally, Schroeder, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Violet, Patty, Shermy, Franklin, Rerun, Freida, and Pigpen. There will be a huge cast of both major and minor supporting characters along the way (all of which have appeared in either the strip or a cartoon special). However, the main story is about the lives of these 15 characters acting as both an ensemble and as individuals. There will be familiar interactions and not so familiar ones. At the end of the day, I'm really just hoping to give you something entertaining and different to read than what you might expect.**

 **See you around!**


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